This page offers answers to frequently asked questions about OpenFEMA.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Use the dropdown menu to filter by the type of question, or type in a keyword.
OpenFEMA Frequently Asked Questions
Do “Valid Registrations” indicate the number of households or individuals? Does Valid Registrations = Applicants?
Yes, valid registration = Applicant. An application is for a household. The occupants in that household are recorded separately.
How are you protecting policyholders’ privacy?
Personal identifiable information (PII) is redacted, and data is anonymized to the census tract, reported zip code, and to one decimal point (.1) digit of latitude and longitude. If mapped, flood insurance policies and claims may appear to be clustered at a particular location due to this anonymization.
Can FEMA provide NFIP flood insurance claims for a specific FEMA disaster?
The NFIP does not track flood insurance claims based on the FEMA’s disaster declarations. The NFIP uses a separate Event Designation Number (EDN) or Flood Insurance Claims Office (FICO) number to do this. If an EDN was not assigned for a particular disaster, the NFIP can still search for flood insurance claims records using a state(s) and a date of loss range(s). Record level information may be subject to exemptions under the FOIA.
How frequently is disaster data updated?
The dataset page indicates the update frequency. The frequency of update depends on the specific dataset. Most of the disaster related datasets are updated every 20 minutes. When accessing the datasets through the OpenFEMA API, the OpenFemaDataSets endpoint can be used to determine the last refresh time.
For example, the following URL displays metadata for the DisasterDeclarations Summaries dataset, indicating the last update in the “lastRefresh” field: https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v1/OpenFemaDataSets?$filter=name eq %27DisasterDeclarationsSummaries%27
How can I combine the Public Assistance “details” and “summary” so I can see the applicant name associated with details for example?
You should be able to join Public Assistance Funded Projects Details - v1 | FEMA.gov with the Public Assistance Applicants - v1 | FEMA.gov using the applicantId field to get the level of detail you want.
Could you provide information about the IA or IHP program?
Please refer to the following guidance documents Here: Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide Archive and here Policy, Guidance and Fact Sheets
How often is information updated on FloodSmart and/or OpenFEMA?
Our program aims to ensure this data is refreshed every 30-60 days.
How do you calculate the number of NFIP policies and claims by state, occupancy type or flood zone?
Each row in the OpenFEMA Policies data set represents an individual policy period. A policy period is the policyholder’s policy term for their contract. The Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) has a policy period of one year. For example, an SFIP with an effective date of January 1, 2022 will have an expiration date of January 1, 2023. To calculate the number of contracts in force on a given date, you can simply set a conditional statement to look for those that have an effective date on or before the given date and an expiration date after the same date. One other consideration is to check to see whether policies have had their policy period cancelled mid-term. The date of cancellation can be found in the new policy termination date field.
Each row in the OpenFEMA Claims data set represents an individual claim. You can summarize this information by a given geographic entity (e.g. state), occupancy type, or flood zone by simply counting the number of rows and grouping by the aggregation level of interest.
Detailed example queries can also be found on the FEMA GitHub website.
FEMA regularly publishes pre-aggregated reports that contain the most recent number of claims by geographic entity and flood zone on FloodSmart.
What is a Subapplication Identifier and what naming conventions are used for Subapplication Identifiers?
The subapplication identifier is a string of numbers and letters connected with dashes that serves as a unique identifier for subapplications submitted to FEMA for consideration. The Hazard Mitigation Assistance legacy grants management systems (NEMIS Mitigation and eGrants) and FEMA GO system use different terms for this identifier; the legacy systems use the term Project Identifier “projectIdentifier” and the FEMA GO system uses the term Subapplication Identifier “subapplicationIdentifier”.
Project Identifier in the Legacy System’s Datasets
In the legacy grants management systems, the project identifier uniquely identifies a subaward.
The naming convention for disaster-based subawards (in the NEMIS Mitigation System) is:
DR-[disaster number]-[project number]-[suffix].
For example: DR-1761-0001-M
DR
[disaster number]
DR means disaster.
A 4-digit chronological number based on the date of the Presidential disaster declaration. This number is assigned outside of the legacy system.
[project number]
The project number is automatically assigned by the legacy system, based on the order in which it was submitted to FEMA.
[suffix]
A single letter: “M” for management cost subawards, “R” for regular projects subawards, “F” for 5% initiative projects subawards, and “P” for mitigation planning subawards.
The naming convention for a non-disaster subaward (in eGrants) is:
[program code]-[subaward type]-[FEMA region number]-[applicant code]-[fiscal year submitted]-[project number].
For example: FMA-PJ-10-WA-2017-006
[program code]
The acronym for the name of the non-disaster grant program: FMA (for Flood Mitigation Assistance), PDMC (for Pre-Disaster Mitigation Competitive), LPDM (for Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation), RFC (for Repetitive Flood Claims), and SRL (for Severe Repetitive Loss).
[subaward type]
A two-letter code indicating the type of eligible mitigation activity: “PL” for Planning, “PJ” for Project, “MC” for Management Costs, and “TA” for technical assistance.
[FEMA region number]
[applicant code]
A two-digit number for the FEMA Regional office.
If the applicant is a state or territory, this is the two-letter state/territory code. If the applicant is an Indian Tribe, then this is a 7-digit code comprised of the two-letter state or territory code, then the two digit “IT” for Indian Tribal, and then a three-digit numerical identifier assigned chronologically for each Indian Tribal Nation.
[fiscal year submitted]
The four-digit federal government fiscal year during which the subapplication was submitted. The federal government fiscal year starts on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30. For example, FY 2023 is from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023.
[project number]
The project number, which is automatically assigned by the legacy system based on the order in which it was submitted to FEMA.
Subapplication/Subaward Identifier in FEMA GO Datasets
In FEMA GO, the subapplication identifier uniquely identifies the subapplication/subaward. The naming convention is:
[FEMA Organization Code][FEMA Region Letter Code]-[Fiscal Year Opportunity]-[Program Code]-[Application Number]-[Subapplication Number].
For example: EMS-2020-BR-140-0001
[FEMA Organization Code]
“EM” is the prefix assigned by FEMA that means Emergency Management.
[FEMA Region Letter Code]
One letter that indicates a FEMA Regional Office: “B” for the location of the Region 1 office (Boston, Massachusetts), “N” for the location of the Region 2 office (New York City, New York), “P” for the location of the Region 3 office (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), “A” for the location of the Region 4 office (Atlanta, Georgia), “C” for the location of the Region 5 office (Chicago, Illinois), “T” for the location of the Region 6 (Dallas, Texas), “K” for the location of the Region 7 office (Kansas City, Missouri), “D” for the location of the Region 8 office (Denver, Colorado), “F” for the location of the Region 9 office (San Francisco, California), and “S” for the location of the Region 10 office (Seattle, Washington).
[Fiscal Year Opportunity]
The four-digit Federal Government Fiscal Year of the grant program funding, as provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Fiscal Year starts on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30. For example, FY2023 is from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023.
[Program Code]
A two-letter code indicating the grant program: either “BR” for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program or “FM” for the Flood Mitigation Assistance program.
[Application Number]
A unique three-digit number assigned to the applicant’s Grant Application, which is generated by the FEMA GO system. All subapplications under one application will have the same Application Number.
[Subapplication Number]
A unique four-digit number assigned to each subapplication/subaward, which is generated by the FEMA GO system.
What is the Population Affected in the FEMA GO dataset?
In FEMA GO, the “population affected” is the percentage of a population that would benefit from implementing the proposed mitigation activity. This data field is required only for project subapplications. In the subapplication, the subapplicant reports the percentage and then explains how the percent was determined in the project narrative. The content of the narrative explanation is not provided as a data field in OpenFEMA because it is a free text field. The legacy system datasets (NEMIS Mitigation and eGrants) do not have an equivalent field.
Last updated