$7.6 million in federal funding to support local emergency planning & response efforts

Funding to support counties & New York City with emergency planning efforts, operational readiness

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $7.6 million in federal funding was awarded to county emergency management agencies in New York to support planning and operational readiness for disaster response. Through the annual federal Emergency Management Performance Grant provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this funding assists efforts ranging from the development and implementation of training and exercises to acquiring emergency response resources at the county level.

"We are laser-focused on strengthening the state's emergency planning and response capabilities to help ensure that New York is ready if disaster strikes," Hochul said. "County emergency managers need our utmost support, and this funding will support training efforts and allow agencies to access the necessary resources to respond to any type of disaster in their community."

Hochul’s team said, “To receive funding, counties must develop projects or initiatives that strengthen their own readiness and response capabilities to address all potential hazards. Projects may focus on addressing efforts identified by FEMA as needing national improvement, including logistics and distribution management planning, evacuation planning, disaster financial management, catastrophic disaster housing and resilient communications.”

Locally, funding was awarded accordingly:

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, "At DHSES, we rely on partnerships at the local level between our Office of Emergency Management staff and county emergency management officials to quickly and appropriately respond to disasters. This federal funding will help our county emergency managers enhance their preparedness efforts and keep New Yorkers safe."

Funding may be used to support:

√ Management and administration activities

√ Planning

√ Staffing for emergency management agencies

√ Equipment

√ Training and exercises

√ Construction and renovation of emergency operations centers

√ Maintenance and sustainment of GIS and interoperable communications systems

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services administers this funding on behalf of FEMA. DHSES will be in contact with each jurisdiction's emergency management office directly to ensure that these funds are made available as quickly as possible.

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides leadership, coordination, and support to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate disasters and other emergencies. For more information, visit on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or check out the website.