OpenFEMA Changelog

All notable changes to OpenFEMA will be documented on this page. Each dataset or API release will indicate a release date, changes, and tags indicating the type of change. Upcoming, unreleased changes will always appear at the top. Details regarding the use of new API features can be found in the OpenFEMA API documentation.

If you have suggestions for features or additional datasets, please contact us at openfema@fema.dhs.gov.

Roadmap

• Individuals and Households Program Valid Registrations [Update]

Releases By Date

2024-12

• Datasets
  • NFIP Community Layer Comprehensive V1 [Yearly Update]
  • NFIP Community Layer No Overlaps Split V1 [Yearly Update]
  • NFIP Community Layer No Overlaps Whole V1 [Yearly Update]
• API Framework Release 9.3.8 - Updated/simplified the $filter "in" and "contains" syntax with regard to JSON array elements. See the documentation for examples.

2024-11

• Datasets
  • Declaration Denials V1 [Update] - Expanded query to return data back to 1953.
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects V4 [Update] - Added fields: Initial Obligation Date, Initial Obligation Amount
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects Financial Transactions V1 [New]
  • HMA Subapplications V2 [Update] - Added fields: Subapplication Title, Management Federal Share Amount, Management Non-Federal Share Amount, Selection Program Activity, Selection Fund Code
  • HMA Subapplications By NFIP CRS Communities V1 [Update] - Added fields: CRS Community, CRS Rating, Congressional District
  • HMA Subapplications Financial Transactions V1 [Update] - Added fields: Payment Number
  • NFIP Residential Penetration Rates V1 [New]
• API Framework Release 9.3.0 - Most of the changes were related to performance improvements. There are no new features to report.

2024-10

• Datasets
  • 2023 Annual NFIRS Public Data [Yearly Update]
  • FEMA Web Disaster Declarations - V1 [Update] – Adds a new Declaration Request Date field.
  • Hazard Mitigation Plan Statuses - V1 [Update] – Adds two new fields: Adoption Date and Jurisdiction Approval date.
  • Public Assistance Grant Award Activities - V2 [New Version] - Originally published to satisfy SIRA legislation, it contained the last 7 days of grant award data. This new version eliminates the 7-day limitation, providing data back to 1998. Additionally, several new fields have been added.
• Dataset Deprecation
  • An updated version of Public Assistance Grant Award Activities has been released. The prior version, V1, has been deprecated. It will remain until December 13, 2024, at which time it will no longer be available. The previous version of the dataset will continue to be updated until it is removed.
• Dataset End-of-Life - Mission Assignments V1, deprecated since June 2024, has reached end-of-life and has been removed. A newer version exists.
• API Framework Release 9.2.0 - Most of the changes were related to performance improvements. There are no new features to report.

2024-09

• Datasets
  • Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]

2024-08

• Datasets
  • Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 [Update] - Added 3 new fields:  Region, Incident Identifier (event identifier before they become official disasters), and Declared Incident Types to include other, non-primary incident types defined for the disaster.
  • FEMA Web Disaster Declarations v1 [Update] – Adds a new Declared Incident Types field to include other, non-primary incident types defined for the disaster.
  • Hazard Mitigation Plan Statuses v1 [Update] – Added a Population Coverage field to express community population as a percentage of the total population for a state.
  • Mission Assignments v2 [Update] – Includes a new field, Support Function to indicate the Emergency Support Function (ESF) or the Recovery Support Function (RSF) supporting the mission.
• Dataset Deprecation
  • A newer version of the Mission Assignments dataset was released in June 2024; the prior version has been deprecated. The old version will remain until September 30, 2024, at which time it will no longer be available. The previous version of the dataset will continue to be updated until it is removed.
• Dataset End-of-Life - The following deprecated datasets (since May 2024) have reached end-of-life and have been removed. New versions do exist.
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Mitigated Properties v3
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects v3
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects by NFIP CRS Communities v1
• API Framework Release 9.1.0 - Most of the changes were related to performance improvements. There are no new features to report.

2024-06

• Datasets
  • Mission Assignments Version 2 [New] - The new version contains additional fields, datatype changes, and includes surge funding. Please see the dataset page for a detailed description.
• Dataset End-of-Life
  • Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

2024-04

• Datasets
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Mitigated Properties [New] - Updated version released to include "Property Part of Project" field. Filter changed to expose pending/non-funded projects.
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects [New] - Filter changed to expose pending/non-funded projects.
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects by NFIP CRS Communities [New] - Filter changed to expose pending/non-funded projects.
• Dataset Deprecation
  • The previous versions of the newly updated Hazard Mitigation Assistance datasets have been deprecated and will be removed on July 31, 2024.
• Dataset End-of-Life
  • HMA Subapplications - V1

2024-03

• Dataset Deprecation
  • Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) - This OpenFEMA dataset has been deprecated as of March 1, 2024. The files and page will be removed on June 1, 2024.
• Dataset End-of-Life
  • Individuals and Households Program - Flood Damage - This file only dataset has been deprecated since June 2022 and has been removed. The information it contains can be found in the Individuals and Households Program - Valid Registrations - v1 | FEMA.gov dataset. Filtering on the floodDamage field, aggregating by the state or disaster, counting the records, and summarizing the floodDamageAmount field will produce the same results that are reflected in the Flood Damage dataset.
• Datasets
  • Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]
  • FY2023 Preparedness (Non-Disaster) / Assistance to Firefighter Grants [Yearly Update]

2024-02

• Datasets
  • Hazard Mitigation Plan Statuses [Update] - New fields have been added: Community Population, Community MPP GeoID, Source, and FEMA Community Identifier.
  • HMA Subapplications [New] - Updated version released to include new fields: Selection Funding Category, Applicant UEI, Subapplicant UEI, and Total Payment Amount. Additionally, the data type changed for Nature-Based Solutions and the Cost-Effectiveness Not Applicable field was removed.
  • HMA Subapplications Financial Transactions [New]
  • NFIP Community Layer Comprehensive [New]
  • NFIP Community Layer No Overlaps Split [New]
  • NFIP Community Layer No Overlaps Whole [New]
  • NFIP Multiple Loss Properties [New]
• API Framework Release 9.0
  • The $allrecords parameter is being added as a BETA feature. This query argument forces all records to be returned as part of a download rather than adhering to the maximum return limit. It is an attempt to reduce the difficulty in downloading large sets of data. Please see the OpenFEMA API Documentation | FEMA.gov for details.

2024-01

• Disaster Declarations Summaries - V1 endpoint removed due to end-of-life

2023-12

• 2023 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]

2023-11

• 2022 Annual NFIRS Public Data [Yearly Update]

2023-09

• Datasets
  • 2022 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]
  • 2023 FIMA NFIP Reinsurance Placement Information [Yearly Update]
  • Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]
  • FIMA NFIP Reinsurance Placement Information [Yearly Update]
  • HMA Subapplications [New]
  • HMA Subapplications by NFIP CRS Communities [New]
  • HMA Subapplications Project Site Inventories [New]
• Dataset End-of-Life - The following datasets have long been deprecated and the endpoints will be removed soon. Currently, a call to these endpoints will return a metadata response containing deprecation information but will not return data.
  • EmergencyManagementPerformanceGrants – V1
  • FemaRegions – V1
  • FimaNfipClaims – V1
  • FimaNfipPolicies – V1
  • HazardMitigationAssistanceMitigatedProperties – V1
  • HazardMitigationAssistanceMitigatedProperties – V2
  • HazardMitigationAssistanceProjects – V1
  • HazardMitigationAssistanceProjects – V2
  • HazardMitigationGrantProgramDisasterSummaries – V1
  • HazardMitigationGrantProgramPropertyAcquisitions – V1
  • HazardMitigationGrants – V1
  • HousingAssistanceOwners – V1
  • HousingAssistanceRenters – V1
  • RegistrationIntakeIndividualsHouseholdPrograms – V1
• API Framework Release 8.2
  • ODATA support for the "in()" operator has been added to the API filter capabilities. See the OpenFEMA API Documentation for the $filter parameter for more information.
  • The $inlinecount parameter is being deprecated. The $count parameter is its replacement. See the documentation for acceptable values.
  • Added support for the parquet file format. This format returns data in a column-oriented fashion. Currently, no encoding is applied to data fields and the file is compressed with the Snappy format.
  • A special endpoint was added to return OpenFEMA metadata in an OpenAPI Specification 3.0 format. See the API documentation for details.

2023-08

• Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]

2023-06

• NFIP Community Status Book [New]

2023-05

OpenFEMA API framework version 8.1 has been released. This release includes updates to four existing datasets, and the deprecation of two datasets:

• Declaration Denials [Update] – A “Tribal Request” flag was added to indicate requests submitted directly to the President, independently of a state, by a Tribal Nation.
• Disaster Declarations Summaries [Update] – A “Tribal Request” flag was added to indicate requests submitted directly to the President, independently of a state, by a Tribal Nation.
• FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies Version 2 [Update] – This is a new version of the previous dataset. It contains many additional fields, field name and data type changes, and enhanced field descriptions. These fields have been added to the Policies file: Policy Status, Cancellation/Voidance Reason Code, Subsidized Rate Type, ICC Premium, Reserve Fund Assessment, Community Probation Surcharge, Premium Payment Indicator, Replacement Cost, Basic Building Rate, Additional Building Rate, Basic Contents Rate, Additional Contents Rate, Enclosure Type Code, Building Description Code, Insurance to Value Code, Post-FIRM V Zone Indicator, Floodproofed Indicator, Waiting Period Type, Rollover/Transfer Code, Endorsement Effective Date, FEMA Region, Property Purchase Date, Rental Property Indicator, Tenant Indicator, State-Owned Indicator, Condominium Coverage Type Code, Disaster Assistance Coverage Required Code, Mandatory Purchase Flag, Grandfathering Type Code, Rated NFIP Community ID, Current NFIP Community ID, Rated NFIP Community Name, Program Type Indicator, Map Panel Number, Map Panel Suffix, Census Block Group FIPS, and Current Flood Zone. Version 1 is deprecated and will be removed in September 2023.
• FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims Version 2 [Update] – This is a new version of the previous dataset. It contains many additional fields, field name and data type changes, and enhanced field descriptions. These fields have been added to the Claims file: Building Damage Amount, Building Deductible Code, Net Building Payment Amount, Building Property Value, Cause of Damage, Condominium Coverage Type Code, Contents Damage Amount, Contents Deductible Code, Net Contents Payment Amount, Contents Property Value, Disaster Assistance Coverage Required Code, Event Designation Number (EDN), Flood Insurance Claims Office (FICO) Number, Flood Characteristics Indicator, Flood Water Duration, Floodproofed Indicator, Flood Event, ICC Coverage, Net ICC Payment Amount, Rated NFIP Community ID, Current NFIP Community ID, Rated NFIP Community Name, Contents Non-Payment Reason, Building Non-Payment Reason, Number of Units, Building Replacement Cost, Contents Replacement Cost, Replacement Cost Basis, State-Owned Indicator, Water Depth, Census Block Group FIPS, Current Flood Zone, Building Description Code, Rental Property Indicator. Version 1 is deprecated and will be removed in September 2023.

In addition to the new datasets, dataset updates, general bug fixes, and performance improvements, version 8.1 of the API framework also includes the following notable changes/fixes:

• Fixed an error related to browser downloads when using the $filename API parameter.
• Fixed an issue that caused the API $filter to fail if the sought value contained a forward slash (/).
• The maximum limit for returned records ($top) has been expanded. Previously, the default number of records returned and the maximum that could be returned at one time was 1,000. Now, if no $top value is specified, 1,000 records will be returned. However, the maximum limit has been increased to 10,000 records. This should reduce the number of situations in which “paging” must be performed to download larger datasets and will reduce the number of iterations for situations where paging is still required. This value may be expanded in the future after we assess the impact to our systems.

2023-04

• Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]
• FY2022 Preparedness (Non-Disaster) / Assistance to Firefighter Grants [Yearly Update]

OpenFEMA API framework version 8.0 has been released. In addition to general bug fixes and performance improvements, version 8.0 of the API framework addresses the following:

• Invalid/unsupported query string parameters will no longer be accepted. An error will be returned indicating the invalid parameter.
• Changes to the handling of $filter argument data types. The values provided for a filter argument must be quoted or not quoted according to the field data type. The new framework logic will not allow strings for Booleans. Only a Boolean value or a number corresponding to a Boolean (i.e., true/false 0/1) will be accepted. Similarly, numeric values like fiscal years will fail if expressed as a string instead of a number.
• Enhanced error messaging when query strings are invalid.
• Fixed an error related to the JSONA file format.
• Introduced JSONL as a new file format which will be particularly useful for streaming data.
• The returned field order is now specified by a metadata element. Prior to this version, fields were returned in no particular order. Your processes may be affected if they expected a specific field order. One possible workaround is to use the $select parameter to specify the field order you prefer. 

2022-11

• Non-Disaster and Assistance to Firefighter Grants [Re-released as an API]
• 2021 Annual NFIRS Public Data [Yearly Update]

• API Framework Release 7.1.0
  • The $metadata=off parameter has been fixed.
  • Issues related to the lastRefreshDate failing to update for several datasets (Registration Intake and Individuals Household Program (RI-IHP), Housing Assistance Program Data - Owners, Housing Assistance Program Data - Renters, Individuals and Households Programs - Valid Registrations) has been fixed.
  • The issue related to invalid JSON output being returned when the $filename parameter was specified has been fixed.
  • The IPAWS Archived Alerts CAP message object names (info, area, and parameter) now correspond to the OpenFEMA dataset structure.
• Datasets
  • Declaration Denials [New]
  • Emergency Management Performance Grants Version 2 [Update and Bi-Annual Refresh] (Version 1 is deprecated and will be removed in January 2023)
  • FEMA Web Disaster Declarations [Update]
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Mitigated Properties Version 3 [Update] (Version 2 is deprecated and will be removed in January 2023)
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects Version 3 [Update] (Version 2 is deprecated and will be removed in January 2023)
  • Hazard Mitigation Grant Program - Disaster Summaries Version 2 [Update] (Version 1 is deprecated and will be removed in January 2023)
  • Public Assistance Grant Award Activities [Update and New API]

• 2021 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]

2022-07

• API Framework Release 7.0.6
  • Fixed duplicate loading issue
  • Fixed issue for field holding empty results array in response
  • Setting max cache age to 1 day
• API Framework Release 7.0.5
  • Extra fields returned in CSV files when only specific fields are requested using the $select parameter.
  • Metadata not always populated correctly when parameters use the URL encoded value of %24 instead of "$". Both are acceptable now.
  • Compound criteria being ignored if the "startswith( )" function is used as criteria. 
  • Internal bug fixes and performance enhancements.
• API Framework Release 7.0.4
  • Fixed skip parameters .
  • Data is returned for csv results in the order specified by the $select parameter.
• API Framework Release 7.0.3
  • Platform migration

• 2022 FIMA NFIP Reinsurance Placement Information [Yearly Update]
• Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 [Update]

• 2020 Annual NFIRS Annual Public Data [Yearly Update]

• Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]
• FY2021 Preparedness (Non-Disaster)/Assistance to Firefighter Grants [New]

• Public Assistance Applicants Program Deliveries [New]

• OpenFEMA has a presence on GitHub! Please visit github.com/FEMA
• Redacted versions of NFIP datasets are back online. The city field has been redacted - a fix is currently in the works.

2021-08

• Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh)]
• 2020 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]
• Access to FimaNfipClaims and FimaNfipPolicies has been temporarily suspended.

• API Framework Release 5.4.2
  • The full file download issues for the following very large datasets have been resolved. The updated download links are reflected in the “Full Data” section of the specific dataset webpage as well as in the “distribution” section of the OpenFEMA Data Sets metadata endpoint.
    • FimaNfipClaims
    • FimaNfipPolicies
    • IndividualsAndHouseholdsProgramValidRegistrations
    • IndividualAssistanceHousingRegistrantsLargeDisasters
• Datasets
  • 2013 Annual NFIRS Public Data (Fire Hazmat) [Update]
  • Individual Assistance Housing Registrants - Large Disasters [Update] - This file has been updated to refresh data and to include additional large disasters. Further, the data refresh frequency will now be weekly.

• 1980 - 1988 Annual NFIRS Public Data (Fire Incidents) [Update]
• 2014 - 2019 Annual NFIRS Public Data (Fire Hazmat) [Update]
• Hazard Mitigation Plan Statuses [Update]

• API Framework Release 5.3.0
• Mission Assignments [Update]

• 2019 Annual NFIRS Public Data (All Incidents) [Yearly Update]
• 2019 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]
• 2021 FIMA NFIP Reinsurance Placement Information [Yearly Update]

• Emergency Management Performance Grants [Bi-Annual Refresh]
• FY2020 Preparedness (Non-Disaster)/Assistance to Firefighter Grants [Yearly Update]
• FEMA Regions Version 2 [Update]

• API framework release 5.1.1. Features include:
  • Ability to query against a geo-spatial enabled dataset [New]
  • Enhanced dataset metadata [Update]
  • Comma-Separated Value support as a data format. Users can now request data to be returned in a CSV format using the $format parameter [New]
  • JSONA support as a data format. Users can now request data to be returned in a JSONA format using the $format parameter [New]
  • Query based searches. Users can specify a $filename parameter permitting the download of only the fields and the filter specified [New]
  • $metadata parameter added to suppress the return of the data set metadata header object [New]
• Datasets
  • Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects by NFIP CRS Communities Version 1 [New]
  • FEMA Regions Version 2 [Update]
  • FEMA Web Disaster Summaries Version 1 [Update]
  • IPAWS Archived Alerts Version 1 [Update]
  • Public Assistance Funded Projects Details [Update]
  • Public Assistance Funded Projects Summaries [Update]
• Documentation:
  • OpenFEMA Large Data Guide [New]
  • API Documentation [Update]

• API Framework Release 5.0.0

• IPAWS Archived Alerts Version 1 [New]

• API framework release 4.0.0

• Individuals and Households Program - Valid Registrations Version 1 [New]
• 2018 National Household Survey [Yearly Update]
• 2020 FIMA NFIP Reinsurance Placement Information [Yearly Update]
• Public Assistance Funded Projects Details Version 1 [Update]

• Mission Assignments Version 1 [New]

2019-09

• Hazard Mitigation Assistance Mitigated Properties Version 2 [Update]
• Hazard Mitigation Assistance Projects Version 2 [Update]
• Hazard Mitigation Grant Program - Disaster Summaries Version 1 [Update]