Late last month, FEMA announced the availability of an additional $50 million in funding through its Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) program, or more specifically, its Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. This increase—the largest in the program’s history—increases the total amount of funding offered from $160 million to $210 million. It stems from recovered funds associated with incomplete or under-budget projects from previous grant cycles.
The FMA grant program, as described by FEMA, assists state, tribal, and territorial government applicants in building a culture of preparedness by strengthening our nation’s ability to reduce disaster suffering and protect life and property from future disaster damages.
As for the FY 2019 grant cycle, the program will “prioritize proposals that address community flood risk by setting aside $70 million for this purpose.” From that $70 million, FEMA will seek to fund two types of community flood mitigation acti