Record-breaking heat, major hurricanes, droughts, flooding rains – given the frequency and severity of these and other weather events, the effects of climate change are on the minds of many. That includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which recently announced the availability of $1.8 billion for two grant programs to help communities increase their resilience: the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and the Flood Mitigation Assistance program. 

The BRIC program supports states, local communities, tribes, and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects to reduce their risks from disasters and natural hazards. The program’s guiding principles are supporting communities through capability and capacity building, encouraging and enabling innovation, promoting partnerships, enabling large infrastructure projects, maintaining flexibility, and providing consistency. With the new funding allocation, BRIC will make an additional $1 billion available for projects that protect people and infrastructure from natural hazards and the effects of climate change.  

The Flood Mitigation Assistance program, established after the National Flood Insurance Reform Act o