When a disaster overwhelms a community, FEMA's Public Assistance program reimburses state, local, and tribal governments — for the emergency response, and for rebuilding the public infrastructure the storm took out. Here is where that money has gone.
“Obligated” is the federal government's committed share, not necessarily the final amount spent: obligations can be revised as projects close out, and this is not the total project cost.
Federal share obligated, by state and territory. A handful of catastrophic storms — Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria — concentrate most of the spending in a few places.
Every PA project falls into one of eight damage categories — grouped into the immediate emergency work, the longer permanent work of rebuilding, and the management cost of running the grants.
Federal share obligated by year. Recovery spending isn't steady — it spikes with the catastrophic events that drive it: Katrina in 2005, Sandy in 2012, the 2017 hurricane season, and the pandemic in 2020.
Which individual declarations drew the most Public Assistance dollars. The list is a roll call of the worst storms of the century — plus the one event that wasn't a storm at all.
Figures come from OpenFEMA's Public Assistance Funded Projects Details, every funded project with a declaration date in 2000 or later. "Federal share obligated" is the federal government's committed portion — not the full project cost, and not necessarily the amount finally spent. One disaster can fund tens of thousands of separate projects across many applicants.