January 28, 2015
FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Nebraska
Overview
Figure 1. DRF Obligations for Declared Major
Disasters in Nebraska, by Fiscal Year
The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is managed by the Federal
Figures are in millions of dollars. The number of declarations
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is the
per year is in parentheses.
primary source of funding used to provide assistance
following a major disaster declaration. The authority to
declare a major disaster is provided to the President under
the Robert T. Stafford Emergency Relief and Disaster
Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288).
The information below includes only the funding provided
as a result of a major disaster declaration, not other
assistance funded through the DRF. Additionally, this
information does not include other federal sources of
disaster assistance, such as Small Business Administration
disaster loans.
FEMA administers disaster relief through regional offices
around the country. Nebraska is part of Region VII,
headquartered in Kansas City, MO.
Major Disaster Declarations:
FY2000-FY2013
A total of 22 major disaster declarations were made in the
state of Nebraska between FY2000 and FY2013. During
that time, there were three requests for major disaster
declarations that were denied. The approved declarations
led to $509 million in federal obligations from the Disaster
Relief Fund. This funding does not include the assistance
that was provided directly by the state, either as a cost-share
for federal assistance, or through the state’s own authorities
and programs. There was a high level of variation in the
amount of funding obligated each year, with more than
$100 million obligated in FY2007, FY2010, and FY2011.
Figure 1 displays the total funding obligated to Nebraska
each year. The highest number of declarations for Nebraska
in a single year was four, which occurred for three fiscal
years.
Significant Incidents

The severe winter storms in FY2007 led to the highest level
Source: CRS analysis of FEMA DRF obligations data as of June 2014.
of DRF assistance during this period. This incident led to
Notes: Figures above reflect both actual obligations and projected
nearly $150 million in assistance. The only other incident
obligations. Only obligations from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund are
that led to more than $100 million in assistance was the
included. Please consult the “Additional Resources” section for
result of flooding in FY2011.
information on other federal assistance programs.


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FEMA DRF Major Disaster Assistance: Nebraska
Types of Assistance Provided for Major
Other Assistance Funded Through the
Disasters
DRF
A major disaster declaration can include funding for
In addition to the major disasters listed above, there are also
different purposes, depending on the needs of the state.
other forms of assistance that are funded through the
These purposes include:
Disaster Relief Fund. These include both Emergency
•
Declarations and Fire Management Assistance Grants. The
Public Assistance (PA) that is used to conduct debris
assistance provided for these declarations typically involves
removal operations, repair or replace damaged public
lower obligation levels than major disaster declarations,
infrastructure, and other assistance;
although there is significant variation across incidents.
• Individual Assistance (IA) that provides direct aid to
impacted households, and other assistance;
Emergency Declarations are often made at the time a threat
•
is recognized and are issued to assist state, local, and tribal
Hazard Mitigation (HM) that funds resilience projects
efforts prior to the incident.
and programs, typically across the whole state; and
• FEMA administrative costs associated with each
Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) provide aid
disaster declaration.
for the control, management, and mitigation of fires.
The decision to provide certain types of assistance is made
Additional Resources
at the time of the major disaster declaration. For many
major disasters, all of the assistance types outlined above
There are many existing CRS products that address issues
will be authorized. For others, some assistance types will
related to the Disaster Relief Fund, the disaster declaration
not be included. Figure 2 compares the amounts expended
process, and federal emergency management policy. Below
for different types of assistance that were provided to
is a list of several of these resources:
Nebraska from FY2000 to FY2013.
• CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on
Figure 2. DRF Assistance for Nebraska, by Type
Responding to Major Disasters and Emergencies
(FY2000-FY2013)
• CRS Report R43519, Natural Disasters and Hazards:
CRS Experts
• CRS Report RL34146, FEMA’s Disaster Declaration
Process: A Primer
• CRS Report R42845, Federal Emergency Management:
A Brief Introduction
• CRS Report R43537, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund:
Overview and Selected Issues
• CRS Report RL33053, Federal Stafford Act Disaster
Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible
Activities, and Funding
FEMA is also responsible for administering the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). More information on
whether your community participates in this program can
be found in the NFIP Community Status Book at fema.gov.
CRS Experts
Source: CRS analysis of FEMA DRF obligation data as of June 2014.
County Impact
FEMA Disaster Assistance:
Francis X. McCarthy, fmccarthy@crs.loc.gov, 7-9533
Since 2000, 93 counties or reservations in Nebraska have
Bruce R. Lindsay, blindsay@crs.loc.gov, 7-3752
received aid under a major disaster declaration. During that
Jared T. Brown, jbrown@crs.loc.gov, 7-4918
time no single county has received more than 10.
National Flood Insurance Program:
Rawle King, rking@crs.loc.gov, 7-5975
Daniel J. Richardson, drichardson@crs.loc.gov, 7-2389

IF10085
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