FEMA awards nearly $43M across Northwest, including $14.6M for Oregon tsunami refuge

(KTZ) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced nearly $43 million in post-disaster recovery and mitigation funding Tuesday for projects across Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

The federal grants support local infrastructure repairs, hazard mitigation measures and public safety reimbursements following recent natural disasters.

The funding is distributed across three FEMA initiatives, including more than $17 million in Public Assistance, nearly $5 million through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and over $20 million in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants. State and tribal governments coordinate directly with FEMA to execute the projects.

Public Assistance funding helps local communities repair critical infrastructure and recover disaster-related costs. In Alaska, the city of Napakiak was awarded nearly $2.9 million and Tununak Native Village received nearly $111,000 to clear debris from Napakiak Creek, private property and roads following ex-Typhoon Halong.

Additional Public Assistance grants include nearly $1.3 million to the Eugene Water & Electric Board in Oregon for permanent transmission line repairs caused by 2024 severe winter storms, straight-line winds, landslides and mudslides. In Washington, FEMA approved more than $1.4 million for the Washington State Patrol to cover fire suppression costs from the 2018 Boyds Fire.

Under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, FEMA approved nearly $2.6 million for Alaska to perform seismic retrofits on the ceiling system at College Gate Elementary School in Anchorage. In Washington, more than $563,000 was awarded for emergency power generators following the 2024 Slide Ranch Fire in Yakima County and on Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation tribal land.

Through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, Oregon received nearly $14.6 million to fund the integration of a Tsunami Vertical Evacuation Refuge Structure into Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.

The program also provided nearly $4.7 million to the Metlakatla Indian Community in Alaska to raise the Chester Lake Dam on the Annette Island Reserve by 10 feet. The project will increase water storage capacity to address power limitations and drinking water availability during drought conditions.