FEMA-Funded Residential Property Voluntary Flood Buyouts give communities and individuals a way to increase their resilience. The mission of the program aligns with FEMA’s Year of Resilience, with a focus on building local capacity to withstand tomorrow’s hazards.
FEMA’s mission to help people before, during and after disasters means our agency plays a crucial role in disaster management and risk reduction. A key piece of this involves encouraging communities to prioritize the mitigation of high flood-risk properties. Sometimes, the best solution in these cases – hard as it may seem – is for individuals to start over in a new location away from the path of potential threats.
FEMA-Funded Residential Property Voluntary Flood Buyouts are powerful tools to help communities increase resilience as survivors rebuild their homes and their lives. FEMA does not buy houses directly from the property owners, but supports acquisition or buyout projects administered by the state and local communities. The state and local communities work together to identify areas where buyouts make the most sense. Individuals may not apply directly to the state but the community may sponsor an application on their behalf.
Each year, flooding causes millions of dollars in property damage, leaving property owners of flood damaged buildings prone to repetitive flooding with a difficult decision: return to the flood-prone area to repair and rebuild or participate in an acquisition/buyout or a relocation project.
Residential buyouts efforts help communities purchase flood-prone properties, remove the buildings and deed restrict the land as open space to preserve the natural benefits of a floodplain. Participation in the program is voluntary and homeowners receive a fair market value for the property. Initiated and managed locally, property acquisitions are historically some of the most-requested project types for funding through our Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs.
Home acquisitions are facilitated through programs like Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), Flood Mitigation Assistance and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
State and local officials, along with individual homeowners, play a pivotal role in prioritizing acquisitions and relocations. Here are some examples of these practices at work:
Davenport, Iowa: Since the 1993 flood, the City of Davenport has acquired 60 properties, receiving a total of over $2.6 million in hazard mitigation funding. The land from these acquisitions is now vacant, turned into open spaces or public parks and has permanently removed people and property from harm’s way.
In May 2023, more flooding occurred in Iowa that ranked among the top 10 quad-cities Mississippi River floods. Analysis of the inundation area of that event revealed that 30 structures previously acquired through FEMA hazard mitigation would have flooded again if action was not taken.
Eastern Kentucky: The Commonwealth of Kentucky partnered with FEMA to move quickly to approve money and buyout hundreds of homes following the July 2022 floods. Flood-prone homes were acquired in five affected counties in eastern Kentucky—Breathitt, Floyd, Knott, Letcher and Perry.
In two years since the flood, FEMA has approved about $84 million to acquire the properties. The acquisitions will provide long-term solutions to future flood hazards by converting the flood-prone properties to open spaces.
Vermont: Hazard mitigation efforts across the state helped create open space and improve resilience to potential flooding threats following Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
- The Dog River in Northfield had a long history of flooding before Tropical Storm Irene struck and 80 of the 100 homes near the river in Northfield suffered flood damage. Nearly $1 million was used to acquire and remove 20 homes, replacing a small neighborhood with public greenspace that created trails and children’s playground for use by the community.
This land in Northfield, Vermont, now serves as open space after flood-prone property was acquired using FEMA mitigation grants.
- After the small town of Northfield also saw extensive Dog River flooding during Tropical Storm Irene, the town used Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to acquire and demolish some 20 flood-prone homes. The $900,000 in FEMA funds were supplemented by HUD Community Development Block Grant funds provided to the community for the local match, easing the burden on officials and homeowners.
- Tropical Storm Irene also flooded the Brattleboro Housing Authority's Melrose Terrace senior living complex on the Whetstone Brook and forced its evacuation. Using nearly $2 million in Pre-disaster Mitigation funding, the city undertook a 10-year project to remove 11 buildings - included 54 apartments - from the floodplain. When severe flooding struck again in July 2023, no residents had to be evacuated, and the increased floodplain capacity helped to stave off heavy flooding in the downtown area.
Missouri: A National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholder and homeowner in University City experienced from five floods in eight years—2008 to 2016—due to river overflow. The policyholder voluntarily applied for a buyout and was able to use the funding to purchase a new home only a mile away. The funds were through the Flood Mitigation Assistance program, which specifically pays for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the NFIP. View the story on FEMA’s YouTube channel.
Across the last 30 years, Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs have provided approximately $3.4 billion for nearly 62,000 property acquisitions nationwide. FEMA’s property acquisition initiatives contribute significantly to flood resilience. By prioritizing mitigation efforts, we create a safer, more-prepared nation—one that can withstand the challenges of tomorrow’s hazards.
For information on HMA grant funds for a mitigation project or to obtain more information regarding FEMA mitigation opportunities in this area contact your State Hazard Mitigation Officer whose contact information can be found on www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/about/state-contacts.