Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division Year in Review

The Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Division works closely with federal partners and support state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to reduce nationwide vulnerability to disasters and natural hazards.

Our vision is to help build a prepared and resilient nation, while our mission is to help people reduce disaster risk through partnerships and mitigation investments to increase resilience. Our values align with the FEMA core values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect, and we additionally seek to promote equity, efficiency, and collaboration in achieving our mission.

Graphic

FY21 Hazard Mitigation Year in Review

Graphic

This chart details the amount of funding that was awarded by the HMA Division and Public Assistance Mitigation in FY 2021, broken down by program.

This report has several key topics about FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants. 

FEMA’s HMA Division continues to help reduce risk through the delivery of several grant programs that provide mitigation funding to significantly reduce the impact of disasters and natural hazards on people’s lives and communities.

FEMA awards the City of Ashland, Oregon $3 million under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant program. This grant will fund wildfire defensible space for 1,100 homes and the replacement of 23 highly flammable wood shaker roofs with an ignition-resistant roof material.

The HMA Division is reducing barriers, providing focused assistance to underserved communities, and simplifying the mitigation assistance process to ensure our partners have straightforward and equitable access to mitigation grant programs.

• President Biden issued Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. HMA is in the process of completing an equity assessment of our programs that will help advance our efforts to direct program benefits to underserved communities.
• President Biden launched Justice40 through Executive Order 14008 – establishing a government-wide initiative with a goal of delivering 40% of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities. Two of HMA’s biggest priorities for the coming year are identifying where funding is going through comprehensive data analysis and prioritizing outreach and technical assistance to underserved communities.
• Following Hurricane Sandy, Ocean Bay Housing Development was redeveloped using $560 million in FEMA funding to better withstand future disasters. The redevelopment provided multiple residential improvements to buildings, site systems, and grounds, and a solar array to provide a source of standby power during extended outages.

The HMA Division builds a prepared and resilient nation by ensuring stakeholders have access to all available programs, tools, training, and resources.

• Updated and accessible program support materials are maintained in HMA’s robust library of educational materials to ensure stakeholders are proficient in all HMA grant programs and changes to policies and the programs.
• HMA’s Mitigation Action Portfolio is a resource provided to introduce stakeholders to the BRIC grant program and the array of eligible hazard mitigation activities that can benefit stakeholders.

FEMA’s HMA Division works closely with federal partners, states, local communities, tribes, and territories to help them consider risk and mitigation in all investment decisions.

With billions of dollars in new funding, the HMA Division is exploring how to align grants more closely with the unique needs of each community.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act became law on Nov. 15, 2021, fully funding the STORM Act, through which FEMA will provide capitalization grants to states and Indian tribal governments to administer revolving loan funds for mitigation projects.