Major Disaster Assistance from the Disaster Relief Fund: State Profiles

Contents

• Overview
• Major Disaster Declarations: FY2000-FY2013
• Types of Assistance Provided for Major Disasters
• Other Assistance Provided by the Disaster Relief Fund
• Additional Resources

Summary

The costs associated with providing assistance following a major disaster can be considerable. The agency with the primary responsibility for this relief is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), FEMA is able to finance relief for all major disasters that are declared by the President. These declarations have occurred in every state since FY2000, with obligations for each incident ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to more than $30 billion.

DRF obligation data provided by FEMA demonstrates a number of important points. First, there is considerable variation in federal spending for major disasters from one year to the next, regardless of the number of declarations. Second, the majority of DRF obligations are used to finance approved expenses under the Public Assistance (PA) program, which include debris removal operations and the repair and replacement of infrastructure. Third, compared to expenditures for other declarations, major disasters continue to be the largest source of DRF obligations each year.

The report below outlines the trend in DRF obligations for both the national and state level for the period FY2000 through FY2013. Linked to this report are individual profiles for each state. This report also includes additional resources and key policy staff that can provide more information on the programs that are discussed.

---

Major Disaster Assistance from the Disaster Relief Fund: State Profiles

Overview

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288) authorizes the President to declare major disasters and emergencies in response to incidents that overwhelm the capabilities of states, tribes, and local governments and therefore require federal assistance. The primary source of funding for federal assistance following an incident is the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This fund provides assistance as a result of major disaster declarations, emergency declarations, and Fire Management Assistance Grants. Major disaster declarations historically account for the vast majority of obligations from the DRF.

In addition to providing a national overview, this report also includes a summary of DRF obligations for each individual state. Information is also provided on the types of assistance that are available for major disasters and other assistance that is financed through the Disaster Relief Fund. For each individual state, there is information on significant incidents within the state during this period, impacted localities, and a summary of total assistance received for major disaster declarations. Additional CRS resources that address these issues are included below. The electronic version of this report includes a summary of DRF obligations at the national level and links to the individual CRS reports on each of the states.

Many other federal programs provide assistance following a major disaster and are not funded through the DRF. While the specific agencies and programs will vary from one disaster to another, an overview of selected programs can be found in CRS Report R42845, Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].

Major Disaster Declarations: FY2000-FY2013

A total of 844 major disasters were declared between FY2000 and FY2013. These declarations resulted in $123.2 billion in total obligations from the DRF. The highest single year was FY2005, when nearly $48 billion was obligated. Most of these funds were for states in the gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. Figure 1 displays the total obligations per fiscal year across the country.

Figure 1. Disaster Relief Fund Obligations for Major Disasters, FY2000-FY2013 (Amounts in millions of dollars)

Source: CRS analysis of FEMA obligation data. Data includes projected obligations as well as actual obligations.

Types of Assistance Provided for Major Disasters

A major disaster declaration can include funding for different purposes, depending on the needs of the state. These purposes include:

• Public Assistance (PA) that is used to conduct debris removal operations, repair or replace damaged public infrastructure, and other assistance;
• Individual Assistance (IA) that provides direct aid to impacted households, and other assistance;
• Hazard Mitigation (HM) that funds resilience projects and programs, typically across the whole state; and
• FEMA administrative costs associated with each disaster declaration. This amount includes the costs of temporary hires, facilities, travel, and training associated with specific disasters.

The decision to provide certain types of assistance is made at the time of the major disaster declaration. For many major disasters, both public assistance and individual assistance will be provided. For others, only one of these may be included. In almost all cases, funds are available for hazard mitigation activities. Figure 2 below compares the total amounts obligated for each of these activities between FY2000 and FY2013.

Figure 2. Major Disaster Obligations by Assistance Type, FY2000-FY2013 (Amounts in millions of dollars)

Source: CRS analysis of FEMA obligation data. Data includes projected obligations as well as actual obligations.

Other Assistance Provided by the Disaster Relief Fund

In addition to the major disasters listed above, other forms of assistance are also funded through the Disaster Relief Fund. These include both emergency declarations and Fire Management Assistance Grants. The assistance provided for these declarations typically involves lower obligation levels than major disaster declarations, although there is significant variation across incidents.

Emergency Declarations are often made at the time a threat is recognized and are issued to assist state, local, and tribal efforts prior to the incident. For the period FY2000 through FY2013, total obligations for emergency declarations were $2.4 billion.

Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) are issued to provide aid related to the control, management, and mitigation of fires. Total obligations for FMAGs from FY2000 through FY2013 were slightly higher than $1.0 billion, with nearly the entire total obligated for public assistance.

Additional Resources

Many existing CRS products address issues related to the Disaster Relief Fund, the disaster declaration process, and federal emergency management policy. Below is a list of several of these resources:

• CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on Responding to Major Disasters and Emergencies, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed];

• CRS Report R43519, Natural Disasters and Hazards: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed];

• CRS Report RL34146, FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer, by [author name scrubbed];

• CRS Report R42845, Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction, coordinated by [author name scrubbed];

• CRS Report R43537, FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Selected Issues, by [author name scrubbed];

• CRS Report RL33053, Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding, by [author name scrubbed].

FEMA is also responsible for administering the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). More information on whether a community participates in this program can be found in the NFIP Community Status Book, https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program/national-flood-insurance-program-community-status-book.

Acknowledgments

Assistance with this report was provided by [author name scrubbed], Section Research Manager; [author name scrubbed], Analyst in Emergency Management Policy; [author name scrubbed], Analyst in American National Government; and [author name scrubbed], Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy.

Key Policy Staff