Hurricane Ian Recovery: Brief Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources
INSIGHTi
Hurricane Ian Recovery: Brief Overview of
FEMA Programs and Resources
Updated September 30, 2022
Introduction
On September 28, 2022 Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 major hurricane near Cayo Costa,
Florida. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm has caused an
extremely dangerous storm surge, winds, and flooding across the Florida Peninsula, and later, the South
Carolina coast. On September 25, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden issued an emergency declaration for
Florida under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford 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. On September 29, 2022, the President
signed a major disaster declaration for the incident and authorized a suite of disaster assistance programs,
including Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance. Several counties
have been authorized to receive Individual Assistance and Public Assistance—Category A (debris
removal), and even more have been authorized to receive Public Assistance—Category B (emergency
protective measures.) The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) has been made available statewide.
The situation in Florida is still dynamic; additional declarations for other counties and designated areas
(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. Later that same day, the
President additionally authorized an emergency declaration for South Carolina under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as amended; 42
U.S.C. §§5121 et seq.).
Information about state and county disaster assistance authorizations is published in FEMA’s declaration
database.
FEMA’s Hurricane Ian webpage provides information on and directions to apply for disaster assistance.
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FEMA Emergency and Major Disaster Assistance
FEMA provides three major categories of disaster 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 March 31, 2022, the NFIP had $6.517 billion available to pay claims, as well as $9.9 billion of
borrowing authority from the Treasury and up to $2.34 billion of reinsurance for a single flood event with
losses over $4 billion to $10 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.
Prior to landfall of Hurricane Ian, FEMA had projected an end-of-the-month unobligated balance in the
DRF of $13.1 billion, $9.7 billion of which would be available for the costs of major disasters. Although
annual appropriations have not been enacted for FEMA as of the date on this Insight, a continuing
resolution is under consideration before Congress that could provide up to $18.8 billion in additional
temporary budget authority starting October 1, 2022, until December 16, 2022, or until FEMA’s annual
appropriations are enacted, whichever comes first. 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
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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 WVB00487, 2022 Hurricane and Disaster Seasons: FEMA Disaster
Assistance Overview and Policy Considerations
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
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
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Author Information
Lauren R. Stienstra
William L. Painter
Section Research Manager
Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations
Elizabeth M. Webster
Diane P. Horn
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Specialist in Flood Insurance and Emergency
Recovery
Management
Bruce R. Lindsay
Specialist in American National Government
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.
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