INSIGHTi
Hurricane Ida Recovery: Brief Overview of
FEMA Programs and Resources
September 7, 2021
Introduction
On August 29, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 major hurricane near Port Fourchon,
Louisiana. The remnants of the storm caused further damage in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast in early
September. This Insight provides a brief overview of emergency and major disaster declarations and
federal assistance programs relevant to those affected by the storm. It also provides hurricane and
flooding information, and selected Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on federal emergency
management policy.
President Joe Biden signed emergency declarations for Louisiana (August 26), Mississippi (August 28),
New York (September 2), and New Jersey (September 2) under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288, as amended; 42 U.S.C. §§5121 et seq.), to support state and local
efforts to save lives, protect property, and avert the incident from becoming a major disaster.
Subsequently, President Biden declared major disasters for Louisiana (August 29), New York (September
5), and New Jersey (September 5), making available a broader range of federal assistance programs to
state, local, and territorial governments, private nonprofit organizations, and individuals through the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies. These are the major
disaster declarations authorized to date:
Louisiana: authorized Public Assistance (PA) for emergency work (e.g., debris removal
and emergency protective measures) and Individual Assistance (IA) for 25 parishes, and
PA for emergency protective measures only for the remaining parishes. The Hazard
Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is available statewide.
New York: authorized PA for emergency work and permanent work (e.g., the
reconstruction of eligible facilities) for six counties and IA for five counties. HMGP is
available statewide.
New Jersey: authorized PA for emergency work and permanent work and IA for six
counties. HMGP is available statewide.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11742
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress
Congressional Research Service
2
Additional declarations for other states (or additional forms of assistance for existing declarations) may be
forthcoming if the President determines that federal assistance is necessary to support state and local
recovery. This information will be published in FEMA’s declaration database.
FEMA’s Hurricane Ida webpage provides information on and directions to apply for disaster assistance.
FEMA Emergency and Major Disaster Assistance
FEMA provides three major categories of assistance, some of which may be available pursuant to an
emergency declaration and/or a major disaster declaration:
Public Assistance (PA) provides grants and direct assistance to state, tribal, territorial, and
local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations, for emergency work (can
be authorized pursuant to either an emergency or major disaster declaration), and
permanent work (can only be authorized pursuant to a major disaster declaration).
Individual Assistance (IA) provides financial and/or direct assistance to affected
individuals and households, and can take the form of housing assistance and assistance
for other needs (can be authorized pursuant to either an emergency or major disaster
declaration), as well as crisis counseling, case management services, legal services, and
disaster unemployment assistance (can only be authorized pursuant to a major disaster
declaration).
Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) funds mitigation and resiliency projects and
programs, typically across the entire state or territory (can only be authorized pursuant to
a major disaster declaration).
The forms of assistance authorized by a declaration may vary by the designated areas, per the declaration
(subject to amendment). The President can also amend emergency and major disaster declarations to
decrease the cost-share requirements for PA.
National Flood Insurance Program
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the primary source of flood insurance coverage for
residential properties. Homeowners and tenants with NFIP flood insurance can make flood damage claims
using the normal NFIP claims process. There does not have to be an emergency or disaster declaration in
order to make an NFIP claim.
As of April 30, 2021, the NFIP had $6.906 billion available ($4.929 billion in the National Flood
Insurance Fund and $1.977 billion in the reserve fund), as well as $9.9 billion of borrowing authority
from the Treasury and up to $2.9 billion of reinsurance for a single flood event with losses over $4 billion
to $6 billion.
Federal Funding for Disaster Response and Recovery
Typically, Congress also expresses interest in funding following a disaster declaration. FEMA’s Disaster
Relief Fund (DRF) is the primary source of federal government resources for response and recovery
activities. It is often used as an indicator of the overall availability of federal resources for response and
recovery.
As a result of historically high levels of annual and supplemental appropriations provided in recent fiscal
years associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, the balance in the DRF stood at
approximately $37 billion in unobligated balances before Hurricane Ida made landfall, according to
Congressional Research Service
3
FEMA—more than 10 times what was available when Hurricane Harvey struck in 2017. To put these
funding levels in perspective, in the three months after Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012, the DRF
obligated roughly $3.4 billion in assistance for that incident. DRF funds do not expire at the end of the
fiscal year, and are to remain available until expended.
Additional Hurricane and Flooding Resources
FEMA Programs and Resources:
Public Assistance Program Overview
Individual Assistance Program Overview
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Overview
National Flood Insurance Program Overview
FEMA Blog
CRS Resources
Hurricane and Flooding Resources
CRS Report R46408, Hurricane Events: CRS Experts
CRS Report R40882, Flooding Events: CRS Experts
CRS Video WVB00386, 2021 Hurricane and Disaster Seasons: FEMA Disaster
Assistance Overview and Policy Considerations: Part 1
CRS Video WVB00387, 2021 Hurricane and Disaster Seasons: FEMA Disaster
Assistance Overview and Policy Considerations: Part 2
CRS Report R44593, Introduction to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
CRS Report R45017, Flood Resilience and Risk Reduction: Federal Assistance and
Programs
Federal Disaster Assistance—Process and Programs
CRS Report WMR10001, CRS Guide to Federal Emergency Management
CRS Report RL31734, Federal Disaster Assistance Response and Recovery Programs:
Brief Summaries
CRS Report R46749, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program: A Primer and Considerations
for Congress, by Erica A. Lee
CRS Report R46014, FEMA Individual Assistance Programs: An Overview
CRS Insight IN11187, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard
Mitigation Assistance
CRS Report R45238, FEMA and SBA Disaster Assistance for Individuals and
Households: Application Processes, Determinations, and Appeals
Congressional Research Service
4
Author Information
Lauren R. Stienstra
Erica A. Lee
Section Research Manager
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Recovery
Elizabeth M. Webster
William L. Painter
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations
Recovery
Bruce R. Lindsay
Diane P. Horn
Specialist in American National Government
Analyst in Flood Insurance and Emergency Management
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
IN11742 · VERSION 1 · NEW