Latest FEMA Headlines

All the headlines from our FEMA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

FEMA Denies Request for Levee Repairs in Grand Isle, Louisiana

Apr 3 2016 // Grand Isle, La., officials have been met with another setback as they try to determine how to rebuild their first-line storm defense. The town’s levees were torn up again by heavy storms three weeks ago. WVUE reports...

FEMA Denies Individual Assistance to Florida Tornado Victims

Apr 1 2016 // Some residents of the Florida Panhandle who sustained damage during two tornadoes that touched down in February will not receive individual assistance through FEMA. The News Journal reports that the Federal Emergency...

FEMA to Louisiana Flood Victims: Don’t Wait to Begin Repairs

Mar 28 2016 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is urging Louisiana residents whose homes were damaged during recent floods not to wait for a FEMA inspector before beginning to clean up and conduct repairs. FEMA spokeswoman Deanna...

Record Number of Flood Policies Bought by Californians, FEMA Says

Mar 7 2016 // Federal emergency officials in late February reported a surge in the number of California residents who have purchased flood insurance, most likely in response to a rainy El Niño winter. Officials with the Federal...

FEMA Designates Additional 18K South Carolina Properties in Flood Zone

Feb 28 2016 // Thousands of property owners in Horry County are being told they will be required to buy flood insurance. Local media outlets report that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has updated flood plain maps and now an...

Record Number of Flood Policies Bought by Californians, FEMA Says

Feb 19 2016 // Federal emergency officials reported Tuesday a surge in the number of California residents who have purchased flood insurance, most likely in response to a rainy El Niño winter. Officials with the Federal Emergency...

FEMA Responds to Florida’s Flood Rate Request, Sort Of

Feb 17 2016 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has responded to Florida’s request to review the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) rates but it may not be as forthcoming and helpful as Florida officials had...

FEMA to Provide Additional $10M in Aid to South Carolina Flood Victims

Jan 28 2016 // South Carolinians who were originally refused help following last October’s historic floods will be getting about $10 million in aid. The State of Columbia reports that the money became available through a program in...

FEMA: Thousands of Sandy Claims Review Cases Still Pending

Jan 11 2016 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still has thousands of Superstorm Sandy claims review cases that are waiting to be examined, latest figures show. FEMA said that as of Dec. 11, 2015, the agency has closed...

Florida Lawmakers to Industry: We Want YOU to Join State Flood Insurance Market

Jan 11 2016 // We think the time is right for you all to explore the [Florida] flood insurance market.” That was the message Florida Senator Jeff Brandes gave insurance industry attendees at the first ever Florida Flood Insurance...

Californians Purchased 28K New Flood Policies in Anticipation of El Nin᷈o

Jan 6 2016 // New data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on National Flood Insurance Program policies shows a big increase in NFIP policies written in California during the month of November 2015, a jump FEMA is crediting to...

Insurance Journal’s Most Popular East Region Stories of 2015

Dec 31 2015 // As the year 2015 comes to a close, here’s a look at InsuranceJournal.com’s most popular East region news stories of the year. Among the 1,100 stories posted in the East region this year, the following were 50...

Florida Lawmakers to Industry: We Want YOU to Join State Flood Insurance Market

Dec 30 2015 // “We think the time is right for you all to explore the [Florida] flood insurance market.” That was the message Florida Senator Jeff Brandes gave insurance industry attendees at the first ever Florida Flood...

FEMA Continues to Examine Thousands of Sandy Claims Review Cases

Dec 30 2015 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still has thousands of Superstorm Sandy claims review cases that are waiting to be examined, latest figures show. FEMA said that as of Dec. 11, the agency has closed 2,694...

South Carolina Insurers to Weather at Least $181M in Claims from October Storm

Dec 21 2015 // The mega-storm that devastated South Carolina in early October is estimated to have cost more than $1.4 billion with insurers paying around $181 million of those losses in claims, so far. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley...

South Carolina Insurers to Weather At Least $181M in Claims from October Storm

Dec 8 2015 // A pickup truck rests against the side of Gills Creek near a bridge in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Days of torrential rains kept much of South Carolina and its capital gripped by floodwaters early Monday. (AP...

FEMA’s Review of Sandy Claims Taking Longer Than Expected

Nov 16 2015 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s review of Superstorm Sandy flood insurance claims is taking longer than expected, with fewer than 200 checks issued. FEMA announced in March the review for as many as 142,000...

N.J. Lawmakers: FEMA Maps May Have Exaggerated Flood Risk

Nov 16 2015 // New Jersey’s Congressional delegation members sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), expressing “significant concerns with the methodology” of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps...

Illinois Budget Mess Leaves Families’ Flood Buyouts in Limbo

Nov 15 2015 // After the Mississippi River flooded four years ago, more than 100 Illinois families agreed — some reluctantly — to sell their homes to the government for demolition so they could move to higher ground. With the...

North Carolina Denied Disaster Declaration for 8 Counties by FEMA

Nov 12 2015 // North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says he will appeal the federal government’s decision refusing aid for eight coastal North Carolina counties for damage caused by heavy rains and flooding in late September and early...