FEMA opens $400 million for flood mitigation as it pushes disaster costs to states

The money goes to states, territories, tribal governments and the District of Columbia, which pass it to local projects that cut repeat flood damage to buildings, Construction Dive reported. Eligible work includes buying out and elevating buildings, plus community-wide work like better drainage and stabilizing soil. In GrantWatch's summary of the notice, $260 million goes to localized projects that cut flood risk, $120 million to work on individual properties and $20 million to building local capacity. The buildings must carry National Flood Insurance Program coverage, and a cost share is required.

Separately, FEMA handed out more than $896 million for about 620 projects and assistance programs. That includes over $90 million for about 75 projects under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, plus $2.7 million for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) work in Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York and the District of Columbia. FEMA moved to end BRIC in April 2025 and brought it back in March after a judge found the termination unlawful.

The awards come as the agency shifts disaster work to states. Administrator Cameron Hamilton told emergency managers in October that states should be ready to respond without federal help in as little as six months, according to Construction Dive. A Government Accountability Office report released Sept. 24 found that FEMA still had 700 BRIC subapplications, worth about $2.2 billion, awaiting a decision in March 2025, and that its reviews took a median of 7 to 9 months. Some local grantees halted work during the uncertainty, state officials told GAO.

Local governments usually apply through their state, and state deadlines can fall before FEMA's Feb. 26 cutoff, GrantWatch noted. FEMA scheduled an application webinar for Nov. 4.