The New Frontier of Pre-Disaster Mitigation

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The following message is from Katherine Fox, Assistant
Administrator for the Mitigation Directorate in FEMA’s Federal
Insurance and Mitigation Administration.

Like many parents, I’m trying to navigate the challenging
balance between work and family needs in this new telework
environment. It’s fun to watch my son build things with Legos
when not in virtual second grade. It struck me recently that the
work FEMA is doing to build a more resilient nation is for his and
future generations. This is what drives my passion and dedication
to promoting risk reduction programs across the nation in my role
at FEMA.

Early in August, we hit an important milestone when we announced
the Fiscal Year 2020 Notice of Funding Opportunities for the Flood
Mitigation Assistance grant program and the new Building Resilient
Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) pre-disaster mitigation grant
program. This year, FEMA will award up to $660 million in grant
funding, including a record-breaking $500 million available for
BRIC and $160 million for Flood Mitigation Assistance.

These two competitive grant programs provide states,
communities, tribes and territories funding for eligible mitigation
activities to reduce the risks and the impact of future disasters.
When the application period for these two grants opens on Sept. 30,
extensive preparation and collective efforts by many helped meet
this milestone, especially for the BRIC program.

Over the last two years, we hosted stakeholder engagements which
were one of the agency’s largest efforts both in-person and
online. We considered nearly 5,500 individual comments about how to
design the program and what to emphasize.  After a thorough
analysis, we drafted a policy, developed extensive program content,
and hosted a series of webinars to
introduce BRIC concepts and to provide an overview
of the Notices of Funding Opportunities.  In addition, we now have
a robust library of readily accessible support materials to submit
an application for a
BRIC and Flood
Mitigation Assistance grants, including dozens of project
examples.

The new BRIC program will also provide direct technical
assistance to improve capacity and capability for up to 10
communities to conduct mitigation activities or identify potential
projects to reduce risk. And we did all that while working closely
with FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate to develop a new
application process through the FEMA Grant Outcomes (FEMA GO)
system.

As emergency managers, we have experienced firsthand the
dramatic increase in the number of disasters and the devastating
impact across our nation. Investing in mitigation – through BRIC
and Flood Mitigation Assistance, along with emphasizing
opportunities in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the Public
Assistance 406 Mitigation program – is critical to achieving
FEMA’s mission.

Together, we have a game-changing opportunity to move mitigation
forward and enhance the nation’s resilience to disasters. To
learn more, visit the FEMA Website.