FEMA less likely to approve individual aid for survivors of smaller, more rural disasters; see how your state has fared

FEMA denials of individual assistance from fall 2018 to fall 2021
An interactive feature shows each disaster for which FEMA denied assistance, the date, and estimated damage to homes.
NBC News map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency can be a lifeline for disaster-stricken Americans, providing families up to $75,800 for emergency expenses such as home repairs, hospital bills, funeral costs, and more.

"For the recipients, these funds can mean the difference between rebuilding a longtime home and becoming homeless. But this critical aid is out of reach for many of the nation’s disaster survivors, including some of the most financially vulnerable, an NBC News analysis found," the network's Bracey Harris and Joshua Eaton report. "From fall 2018 to fall 2021, the federal government turned down nearly 40 percent of states’ requests for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program, totaling 33 denials, according to an examination of agency records. The rejections followed disasters including wildfires, flash floods, tornadoes and mudslides. FEMA estimated that it would have cost $107.5 million to fulfill these denied requests — or less than half of what the agency approved to support New Jersey residents after Hurricane Ida."

Most often, FEMA denied assistance for disasters that spanned only a few counties or happened in rural areas, since the agency prioritizes aid for large-scale disasters or those in densely populated areas. "the agency often considers these other disasters too small to require federal assistance, saying that state and local governments should be able to help instead," Harris and Eaton report. "However, the NBC News analysis found that many of FEMA’s rejections occurred in communities where economic hardships left disaster survivors with few other paths to recovery: Nearly all of the communities that were denied federal aid had poverty rates higher than the national average, while in two-thirds of these communities, less than half of the affected residents had insurance."

Moreover, at least 39 states lack a publicly funded aid program meant to help survivors rebuild homes after a disaster, a 2020 survey found. "Without federal or state assistance, struggling residents in these states are often left to rely on loans or charity — an imperfect safety net, according to elected officials, emergency managers, community advocates and disaster recovery experts, Harris and Eaton report.

Research increasingly shows racial and economic disparities in FEMA's disaster aid programs; experts and advocates say it's more important than ever to address these inequalities as climate change fuels stronger and more frequent disasters that disproportionately hurt marginalized people. "In 2018, the Government Accountability Office reported that the 'subjective' nature of FEMA’s decisions made it difficult for states to know when to seek help," Harris and Eaton report. "Last October, during a U.S. House Homeland Security Committee hearing on equity in disaster response, the GAO official who oversaw that report said the lack of clarity on which communities get aid remains a problem."

Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., complained during the hearing that the agency was leaving vulnerable people behind. "I’m sick and tired of seeing people building multimillion-dollar mansions on the beach and then getting FEMA assistance, while people in rural areas don’t get squat," he said. "We’ve got to change that."