Disasters

Whatever the disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, leads the federal government’s response as part of a team of responders.

Disasters Overview

Disaster can strike at any time and in any place, building slowly, or occurring suddenly without warning.
Disasters Results

Since 9/11, DHS has made significant progress in how we respond to a wide range of threats, from natural disasters to coordinated attacks.
Disaster Assistance

Disaster assistance is financial or direct assistance to individuals, families and businesses whose property has been damaged or destroyed and whose losses are not covered by insurance.
Disaster Response and Recovery

Every year, disasters put millions of Americans in danger and costs billions of dollars in property damage.
Resilience

DHS works with all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and individual citizens to make our nation more resilient to acts of terrorism, cyber attacks, pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters.
Surge Capacity Force

If an incident exceeds the capacity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster workforce, the Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized to activate the DHS Surge Capacity Force (SCF) to augment the federal response to a catastrophic disaster. The SCF is composed of federal employees from DHS and other agencies. They assist Americans in their greatest time of need. The program is managed by FEMA. Volunteering for the SCF is a unique opportunity to support DHS missions during and immediately after major disasters or emergencies, and develop skills beyond your regular positions.
Training & Technical Assistance

Training, technical assistance and exercise resources for citizens and first responders.