In March 2022, FEMA launched the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program Swift Current initiative that seeks to substantially speed up the delivery of funding following a flood event. Swift Current aims to better align the delivery of flood mitigation funding to better support disaster survivors by expediting FMA awards following a disaster, rather than through an annual grant application cycle.
Swift Current is the first FEMA initiative to be funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A total of $60 million has been allocated to Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, states affected by Hurricane Ida. The storm was one of the most powerful and rapidly intensifying storms to hit the United States in years.
FEMA remains committed to using comprehensive risk and community data to ensure underserved communities are prioritized. To that end, these four states were selected because they have the highest number of unmitigated severe repetitive loss and repetitive loss properties insured under the National Flood Insurance Program and total flood insurance claims within their respective FEMA regions.
The initiative’s goal is to fund mitigation projects for repetitively and substantially flood damaged properties as quickly and equitably as possible after a disaster event. The use of this funding also allows FEMA to offer a higher-cost share for buildings that are substantially damaged and located within socially vulnerable communities. Swift Current aims to promote equity as a foundation of emergency management and in alignment with the Administrations’ Justice40 Initiative.