Latest FEMA Headlines
All the headlines from our FEMA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2019 Floods Brought Financial Woes to South Dakota Townships
Jan 17 2020 // Townships in South Dakota are facing economic difficulties as 2019 flood repair costs mount. Townships primarily depend on their taxpayers for funds to repair more than 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) of roads while they...
FEMA Administrator: We Want California Wildfire Costs From PG&E, Not Victims
Jan 13 2020 // A regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday said FEMA is going after California utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric for $3.9 billion owed the government due to wildfires that PG&E was...
FEMA Renews $1.3 Billion Reinsurance for Flood Program with 27 Carriers
Jan 6 2020 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) FEMA reported its 2020 traditional reinsurance placement for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in a transaction in which 27 private reinsurers assumed $1.33 billion...
Aid Request for 6 South Dakota Counties Rejected by FEMA
Dec 2 2019 // South Dakota has lost an appeal for federal funding to rebuild from tornadoes and floods that hit six counties in August. The Federal Emergency Management Agency ruled that the damage was not severe enough to qualify for...
FEMA Envisions High-Tech Flood Insurance Program Using Parametrics, Blockchain
Nov 26 2019 // Blockchain technology and parametric insurance should be included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s toolbox as it strives to close the nation’s flood insurance coverage gap, according to a draft...
Feds Say Florida Officials Bilked FEMA Out of Hurricane Money
Nov 22 2019 // Two former officials of a Florida city are charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money, the U.S. attorney’s office announced...
FEMA Upholds Decision to Deny Individual Assistance After Illinois Flooding
Nov 18 2019 // A federal agency upheld its decision to deny financial assistance to Illinois residents and business owners affected by historic flooding despite granting the state public aid. The Federal Emergency Management...
FEMA Postpones Switch to New Risk-Based Flood Insurance Rating Until 2021
Nov 8 2019 // The federal government is delaying implementation of a major change to its pricing formula for federal flood insurance that bases rates on a more accurate assessment of the real flood threat for each home and reflects the...
FEMA Teams Assessing Storm Damage in Vermont
Nov 6 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is in Vermont assessing flood and wind damage from a recent storm. Vermont Emergency Management Director Erica Bornemann requested the preliminary damage assessment to determine if...
IBHS Chief Continues to Ask Congress to Embrace Tax Credits for Climate Resilience
Oct 24 2019 // The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety has its eye on more than just helping improve safety on the roads and in homes. The climate and severe weather have also been on the IBHS radar lately. Roy E. Wright,...
Florida CFO Patronis Appointed to FEMA National Advisory Council
Oct 17 2019 // Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis has been appointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC) by Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor. Jimmy Patronis The NAC...
North Carolina to Create Program to Help Dorian Victims After FEMA Rejection
Oct 16 2019 // Gov. Roy Cooper aims to create a state-funded program to help residents in four North Carolina counties recover from Hurricane Dorian after the federal government declined a request for assistance targeting them. The...
Hurricane Michael: One Year Later, Federal Aid for Recovery Totals Nearly $2B
Oct 10 2019 // Since Hurricane Michael made landfall Oct. 10, 2018, federal assistance for recovery in the 18 affected counties is nearly $1.9 billion, including FEMA grants, National Flood Insurance Program payments and U.S. Small...
Government Has Bought 43,000 Flood-Prone Homes; Poor Often Left Behind
Oct 10 2019 // As the climate crisis worsens, more Americans will be forced from their homes. Many won’t be able to afford it, and the U.S. isn’t prepared for a massive, government-subsidized migration away from flood-prone...
Imelda-Impacted Texans Still Don’t Know if They Qualify for FEMA Aid
Oct 1 2019 // Two state officials are optimistic that southeast Texans whose homes were flooded by Tropical Storm Imelda will qualify for federal aid. And since it could be weeks before the destruction is fully inventoried, many leaders...
Minneapolis Federal Reserve: With Flooding Comes a Torrent of Data
Sep 24 2019 // One of the biggest problems with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance program is that, nationwide, few property owners actually choose to buy into it. But that’s not the case in many...
Group Says FEMA’s Flood Home Buyouts Take Too Long
Sep 19 2019 // For those who want to move out of a flood zone, the wait time for a home buyout can stretch five years or more, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which analyzed nearly 30 years of data from the...
FEMA Officials Arrested on Fraud Charges Linked to Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Aid
Sep 11 2019 // Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to...
Fake Claims, Price Gouging, Bogus Contractors in Times of Disaster
Sep 2 2019 // As the scale and frequency of major disasters escalate, millions of dollars in federal, state and insurance payments intended for recovery efforts are being stolen by fraudsters taking advantage of chaos and the pipeline...
Fake Claims, Price Gouging, Bogus Contractors: How Fraudsters Steal Disaster Aid
Aug 23 2019 // As the scale and frequency of major disasters escalate, millions of dollars in federal, state and insurance payments intended for recovery efforts are being stolen by fraudsters taking advantage of chaos and the pipeline...
