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FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Missouri to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding on May 16.
The president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Scott and St. Louis counties and the independent city of St. Louis. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding in Scott and St. Louis counties and the independent city of St. Louis.
Individuals who sustained losses in the designated areas should first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance.
The fastest way to apply is online at DisasterAssistance.gov or the Spanish language DisasterAssistance.gov/es.
If you need more information or additional help:
- Download the FEMA App.
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 for assistance in multiple languages.
- Visit a FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). To find one in your area, visit the DRC Locator or text DRC along with your ZIP code to 43362 (Example: “DRC 29169”).
To view an accessible video on how to apply, visit What to Expect Before Applying for FEMA Assistance
When applying for FEMA assistance, specify the damage and the date it occurred to ensure you are applying under the correct declaration number. If you were affected by multiple disasters, you should apply separately for each disaster. When two or more disasters are declared in the same state, FEMA ensures survivors receive all assistance they're eligible for while preventing duplication of federal benefits.
For more information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4877.
FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Missouri to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding on April 29.
Public Assistance federal funding is available to the state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding in Barry, Greene, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton and Washington counties.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further assessments.
For more information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4876.
For the sixth consecutive year, FEMA has updated its free, easy-to-use geographic information systems (GIS) tool that helps emergency managers and local partners assess threats and hazards that may challenge their community’s resilience.
This tool is part of FEMA’s work to empower states and localities across the country to prepare for and respond to disasters.
The 2025 update of the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool includes new census data from the American Community Survey five-year estimate (2019-2023) and the updated Community Resilience Challenges Indices for counties and census tracts. There are 22 commonly recognized indicators available in the Community Resilience Challenges Indices that can be found in the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool.
The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool supports the FEMA mission by providing emergency managers and community leaders at all levels of government access to the latest population, infrastructure and hazard data with easy-to-use analysis tools. This allows users to combine layers of community resilience indicators, infrastructure locations and hazard data so they can make more informed decisions on mitigation, response and recovery.
The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool includes over 100 pre-loaded data layers, and its functionality allows users to visualize combinations of these data layers for a specific location. This 2025 update of the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool includes:
- Updated U.S. Census data: The latest American Community Survey five-year estimates (2019-2023) with refreshed pop-ups.
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Take a Tour: Explore the functionality of the updated tool in Esri’s ArcGIS Experience Builder.
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County Overview: This dashboard, embedded in the tool, provides at-a-glance information at the county level.
FEMA will host three interactive webinars on the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool. Each webinar will cover the same content. Please register for one of these 60-minute Zoom sessions below:
Visit the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool Resource Center to access supporting materials, learn more about the tool's functionality and see how it can improve resilience planning in your community.
FEMA has updated the State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide to reflect recent executive orders.
The guide—available on FEMA.gov—is the official interpretation of the mitigation planning requirements in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and other federal statutes as well in federal regulations, specifically Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations Part 201 Mitigation Planning.
State mitigation plans are required under the Stafford Act as a condition of receiving certain types of non-emergency assistance. The guide helps facilitate consistent approval of state mitigation plans, promote risk-informed decision-making and support states in building mitigation capabilities.
Changes in the 2025 update include removal of requirements related to climate change and equity. These actions ensure that FEMA guidance aligns with the President’s Executive Orders and Secretary Noem’s direction on how to best support states and local communities in disaster planning, response and recovery.
For more information on mitigation planning, visit FEMA.gov.
In alignment with President Trump’s Executive Orders and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem’s direction, FEMA’s Public Assistance Mitigation Cost Share Incentives Policy is no longer applicable for any declared disaster. This policy was originally issued Sept. 26, 2024. It outlined the actions that states, tribal nations, territories and certain nonprofits could take to receive an increase in the federal cost share for their permanent recovery projects, including mitigation.
This rescission applies retroactively to all disasters declared since September 26, 2024, and is no longer applicable for any declared disaster moving forward.
Public Assistance applicants with any questions on the cancellation of this policy can email fema-recovery-pa-policy@fema.dhs.gov for more information.
The Atlantic hurricane season has begun. As an emergency manager, you want to prepare your community in the best way possible. FEMA has resources to help you.
Preparing your town, county, state, tribe or territory for a hurricane now can save lives. This season is forecast to be above average, with 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes. Any of them could wreak havoc on the coast – where storm surge causes half of all deaths from tropical cyclones in the U.S. – or hundreds of miles inland, where last year’s Hurricane Helene dumped over 30 inches of rain.
Whether you’re drafting your first emergency plan or refining one you’ve practiced for years, you can use the resources in this blog to get your agency and community ready. Read more at FEMA.gov.
Application Period Open Until July 3 for $360M in Grants to Boost Number of Firefighters and $36M in Grants to Strengthen Fire Prevention and Safety
FEMA opened the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) application period for $360 million. In addition, FEMA also opened the Fire Prevention and Safety application period for $36 million. The application period for both the FY24 SAFER and Fire Prevention and Safety programs will close on Thursday, July 3, at 5 p.m. ET.
The SAFER grant program awards these funds directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations across the nation to help them increase or maintain the number of trained firefighters available in their community.
The Fire Prevention and Safety grant program helps strengthen community fire prevention programs and support scientific research on innovations that improve firefighter safety, health and well-being.
Since 2005, the SAFER program has awarded approximately $5.2 billion in grant funding. The Fire Prevention and Safety program has awarded nearly $900 million since its inception in 2002.
The FY24 SAFER and Fire Prevention and Safety Notices of Funding opportunity and technical assistance documents for both programs are available at Grants.gov and on the FEMA websites at SAFER and Fire Prevention and Safety. Additional information about upcoming webinars to assist applicants is also available on the FEMA website.
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