US FEMA resumes key disaster prevention program that it canceled last year

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday it was resuming a disaster prevention program it canceled last year and reopening it to funding applications following legal setbacks.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns ruled in December that President Donald Trump’s administration had unlawfully terminated the FEMA grant program designed to protect states and communities against natural disasters before they occur.

This month, Stearns ordered the agency to take more steps in restoring the program called the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

“Through this funding opportunity, FEMA is making $1 billion in federal funding available to states, local governments, territories and Tribal Nations, empowering them to take decisive, proactive steps to protect their communities from potential disasters like fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes,” FEMA said in a statement on Wednesday.

FEMA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, announced last April it would end the program, calling it wasteful, ineffective and politicized.

FEMA has seen significant staff cuts since Trump took office in January 2025.

The agency’s mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. It brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to stricken areas.

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration and former DHS chief Kristi Noem for what they say is the slow-walking of FEMA grants.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue)