 In March 2022, FEMA approved a new national Building Codes Strategy to organize and prioritize FEMA activities that advance the adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes and standards for agency programs. The campaign promotes integrating building codes and standards that protect homes and buildings from storms, fires and structural collapse while strengthening nationwide capability and expertise and driving public action. FEMA's Building Code Strategy focuses on using partnerships and understanding stakeholder needs. It amplifies climate science messaging to increase public demand for building codes and standards. The Biden-Harris Administration has launched the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes. As part of this initiative, the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG), led by FEMA, has been directed to position federal programs that support building activity, and states, municipalities, tribal entities and territories to use a common framework for construction. FEMA is excited to be part of this important initiative, which will advance White House climate resilience goals and align with the National Mitigation Investment Strategy. With extreme weather events threatening millions of homes and buildings each year, this is a great opportunity to continue the MitFLG's efforts, alongside our federal family, to reduce disaster suffering, the effects of climate change and make communities more resilient. | Back to Top  On May 25, 2022, FEMA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Fiscal Year 2022 Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program. These projects were congressionally authorized through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 and directs nearly $154 million to 68 specific projects that support growing mitigation needs nationwide. This is a new and separate source of funding that FEMA will manage alongside our other programs. These funds are available to specific state, local, tribal and territorial governments to plan for and implement sustainable cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce the risk to individuals and property from future natural hazards while also reducing reliance on federal funding from future disasters. Communities with projects identified for funding must apply by June 24. While FEMA expects to make awards prior to Sept. 30, the agency will only disburse funding once all program eligibility criteria are met. FEMA is also providing technical assistance to applicants and subapplicants of the 68 projects to enhance building capability and capacity to ensure the successful submission of subapplications for timely review and awards. For general questions about Pre-Disaster Grant congressional community projects, please contact the appropriate State Hazard Mitigation Officer or FEMA Regional Office. The Hazard Mitigation Assistance Helpline is also available by telephone at 866-222-3580. FEMA will offer a webinar series for applicants. To register for an upcoming webinar, visit FEMA.gov. For additional information, email FEMA-Ask-PDM@fema.dhs.gov. | Back to Top  Hurricane season is upon us. In preparation for a predicted above average season and already high nationwide flood events this year, The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has launched the Disaster Response Landing Page on FloodSmart.gov. This webpage is designed to provide state, community and local officials with the most up-to-date and relevant NFIP publications and resources needed to prepare for and respond to floods. The Disaster Response Landing Page provides informational resources that address the following categories: - Preparing for a Storm
- Filing Your Claim
- Recovering From a Flood
- Information for Insurance Agents
- Resources in Additional Languages
- Media Toolkit
Communities can access resources needed before, during and after a flood event by visiting FloodSmart.gov. | Back to Top  FEMA released updates to the State and Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guides. They are the official interpretation of the mitigation planning requirements in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and other federal statutes as well in federal regulations, specifically Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations Part 201 Mitigation Planning. FEMA routinely updates policies to improve and better support stakeholders in meeting federal requirements. Changes reflected in the 2022 update include: - Inclusion of priorities such as planning for future conditions, climate change, equity, resilience, and building codes
- Updated guidance and procedures that support states seeking enhanced status. Enhanced states demonstrate a comprehensive mitigation program and capability to manage additional federal mitigation funding
- Incorporation of new FEMA grant programs, such as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Post-Fire and High-Hazard Potential Dam program
- Strengthened connection with Fire Management Assistance Grants
- Alignment with national initiatives and programs including the National Mitigation Investment Strategy
- Renewed focus on resilience to support communities in creating holistic plans that will help the whole community understand the importance of mitigation and develop mitigation actions based on current and future risks and capabilities
- The updated policies become effective for all plan approvals one year from the official release. This provides a one-year transition period for state and local governments to meet the new requirements for plans in process and new plans. FEMA hosted external webinars last month to provide stakeholders who are involved with the mitigation planning process an overview of these updates.
To learn more, visit FEMA's Policy Update web page. | Back to Top FEMA has released several updated Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) job aids that provide detailed information on the program requirements for the technical and Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation reviews to access grant funding. The updated guidance is broken down by the following project types: - acquisition and demolition
- acquisition and relocation
- dry floodproofing
- elevation
- flood risk reduction
- generators
- hurricane wind retrofit
- safe rooms
- seismic retrofit
- soil stabilization and wildfire (including post wildfire soil stabilization and post wildfire flood risk reduction)
You may access the updated job aids on FEMA.gov under the main page for HMA Job Aids. Search by project type in the keyword search bar to find the relevant guidance. Back to Top  If a property owner doesn't know their flood risk, they cannot know their premium rate or what mitigation actions to consider. FEMA has rolled out the National Flood Insurance Program's new rating system, Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action and policyholders and industry partners are wanting to know "How does FEMA calculate my rate?" and "How can I reduce my flood risk and pay less?". To provide answers to these important questions, FIMA has published new materials to the Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action resource webpage on FloodSmart.gov. These user-friendly educational tools are a part of our commitment to increasing transparency and communication. The materials provide in-depth explanations on topics ranging from flood risk variables and individualized policy pricing to discounts and other options available to policyholders. This collection is updated regularly, and insurance providers are encouraged to use and share these resources to help their clients protect the lives they've built and bring us closer to closing the flood insurance gap. | Back to Top FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) program is pleased to announce recordings from its Spring 2022 Webinar Series are now available online. These webinars provide important information to help prospective applicants and subapplicants successfully navigate the mitigation grant process to submit complete applications to successfully access Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding: - Hazard Mitigation Grant Program 101: This webinar provides a general overview of the program, including specifics about completing eligible applications; finding useful resources; and implementing a successful HMGP project.
- Nature-Based Solutions: This webinar provides an overview of how to incorporate nature-based solutions into mitigation projects; project scoping considerations; and examples of successful projects and their benefits.
- Benefit Cost Analysis 101: This webinar provides an overview of the fundamental concepts of the FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Toolkit, including instructions on completing an analysis; the documentation needed, and best practices.
- Cost Estimation: This webinar provides the fundamentals of constructing cost estimates for common project types, and generally explains the principles of reviewing cost estimates and determining "reasonable costs" as part of each grant application review.
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