Commonwealth Submits over $326,000,000 in Pre-Disaster Grants for Virginia Localities
RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) announced that 53 hazard mitigation project applications were submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under two grant programs. These projects total over $326 million and demonstrates the increased interest in taking pre-disaster actions to reduce risk from future disasters
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
The BRIC grant program prioritizes project applications that reduce the risk states, local communities, and tribes face from disasters and natural hazards. BRIC is a new FEMA pre-disaster hazard mitigation program that replaces the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program. The guiding principles of BRIC are to support communities through capability and capacity building; encourage and enable innovation; promote partnerships; and enable large projects. VDEM submitted 26 applications for local governments, six applications for Planning District Commissions, three applications for state agencies, and one application for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. Virginia was one of five states to submit over $200 million in project applications.