The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded nearly $3 million in federal grants to communities throughout the New Hampshire for damages from two severe winter storms and flooding events that occurred in March of 2018.
In June 2018, as a result of these storms, President Trump granted two major disaster declarations for the State of New Hampshire, triggering the release of federal funds under FEMA’s Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant programs.
The March 2-3 severe storm and flooding designated eligibility for the county of Rockingham and the second severe winter storm on March 13-14 designated eligibility for the counties of Carroll, Rockingham, and Strafford.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state and local governments, tribal governments, and to certain types of private nonprofit organizations to reimburse for the cost of life-saving emergency protective measures, debris removal and permanent repair work to damaged public buildings and infrastructure. FEMA’s Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant programs are an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
The New Hampshire Department of Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) works with FEMA during all phases of the programs and conducts final reviews of FEMA-approved projects. Once a project is obligated by FEMA, HSEM works with the applicant to finalize the grant and begin making payments. HSEM ensures grant funding is provided to local communities as quickly as possible.
There are additional projects that have been identified under the Public Assistance program relating to these federal disaster declarations and FEMA and HSEM will continue to work extensively with all applicants. The timeline for projects being funded may depend on the complexity of the project, collection of supporting documentation by the applicants, environmental laws, regulations and other concerns.
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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.