Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funding allocations and relevance for US disaster policy
Date
2023-05-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy
Abstract
The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program has long been a cornerstone of state and local emergency management preparedness efforts. Through the EMPG program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers grants to state and local emergency management agencies to accomplish a wide range of tasks such as the development of response and recovery plans, the creation of emergency operation centers, and the hiring of staff, among other activities required to be effective. EMPG provides the predominant federal funding for this mission, and many agencies depend on these funds for their operations. Despite the importance of EMPG, there is a dearth of empirical research about the program. This study explores this gap by evaluating how EMPG funds were distributed across United States counties from 2014 to 2020. Using FEMA and US Census data, we conducted a county-level analysis using robust regression statistical analysis to determine factors affecting funding awards. Findings indicate that high population, high diversity, a strong economy, and high risk (measured using both the National Risk Index score and the number of federal disaster declarations per county) increased the likelihood that a county would receive EMPG funds, with high-risk urban counties rather than rural counties receiving more funding.
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gerber-Chavez, Logan, Montano, Samantha, Savitt, Amanda, Corbin, Tanya B., and Downey, Davia C.. 2023. “ Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funding allocations and relevance for US disaster policy.” Risks, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy. 1– 21. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12269, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12269. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited. © 2023 Policy Studies Organization. This article will be embargoed until 05/12/2025.
Keywords
emergency management, emergency management performance grant program, equity, disaster policy
Citation
Gerber-Chavez, Logan, Montano, Samantha, Savitt, Amanda, Corbin, Tanya B., and Downey, Davia C.. 2023. “ Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funding allocations and relevance for US disaster policy.” Risks, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy. 1– 21. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12269