Harrisburg, PA – Since 2023, the Commonwealth’s Disaster Recovery Assistance Program, or DRAP, has been activated 13 times, providing nearly $600,000 in direct financial assistance to Pennsylvanians to help them get back on their feet after disasters.
This grant program helps individuals and families most in need after disasters to cover temporary housing and rental expenses, repair housing to livable conditions, and replace essential personal property. Prior to DRAP, these individuals would have been left with limited options to meet these basic needs after a disaster.
Frank's Story
To highlight one example, Frank Mulligan lost his apartment and everything in it when a fast-moving fire swept through the Hotel Hampton Apartments in Easton earlier this year.
Frank relied on community and family support in the days following the fire. He later attended a multi-agency resource center, supported by local officials, volunteer organizations, and state agencies including PEMA, to learn more about what services were available to get on the path to recovery. That’s where Frank learned about DRAP.
Six months later, Frank is in a new apartment and recovering thanks to support from family, his community, and the DRAP grant he received.
“I am in a nice, clean place close to the things I need each day. Without help from the state disaster grant program and the Easton community organizations and officials, I’d be in serious trouble and still out on the street today,” Frank said. “The folks at PEMA, especially my case manager Seth, have been wonderful to work with. They’ve bent over backwards to make sure I am being helped. God bless Seth and God bless everyone. I am truly grateful for the support.”
Frank said he appreciates the leadership of Gov. Shapiro as well as all the work the state legislature put into this program to help people just like him. His story, and the many others who may need the program’s support in future disasters, should be the driving force to keep this program funded, year after year.
“Frank Mulligan’s story is heartbreaking, but it’s exactly the type of situation that the grant program was designed for: To help people who have been adversely impacted by localized disasters when they need it most and there is little or no other assistance available. The Disaster Recovery Assistance Program is a critical component in ensuring impacted people and families can get back on their feet, have a safe, sanitary and secure place to stay, and have basic essential items after a disaster.”
— PA Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield
“When disasters strike, state government needs to be a resource to help residents get back on their feet,” said Sen. Lisa M. Boscola. “DRAP delivered aid to Mr. Mulligan in Easton and other families across Pennsylvania to help them recover. Funding a program like DRAP is a critical component of the state budget and I am pleased the resources are there to help when needed.”
“When a devastating fire engulfed the Hotel Hampton Apartments in Easton earlier this year displacing residents who lost everything, PEMA joined Easton community organizations and officials in providing essential relief to help them get back on track,” said Rep. Bob Freeman. “PEMA’s Disaster Recovery Assistance Program was a critical component of that relief effort, helping to fund temporary housing and replacing personal and essential items lost in the fire for residents like Frank Mulligan. I am proud of our community coming together to support Frank and other survivors of the fire to gain access to the resources they needed after the fire, including the Commonwealth’s disaster grant program.”
Governor Shapiro's 2026-27 budget invested another $5 million in disaster relief funding for individuals and communities recovering from disasters across this commonwealth. The DRAP has been a priority of the Shapiro Administration, with $20 million invested over the past four budget cycles. All unused funds rollover to provide a robust fund for future disaster needs.
Since its inception, DRAP was activated to provide assistance directly to Pennsylvanians after disasters including flash flooding events in Clearfield County, Philadelphia, Blair and Huntingdon counties, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties, Indiana County, Somerset County, Allegheny County, Northampton County, and Berks County.
"The Tyrone community is greatly appreciative of what our commonwealth and federal partners have done to help our community recover from the flooding in July," said John Harlow, Mayor of the Borough of Tyrone. "We had 17 families in the area apply for the DRAP grants, which gives them the possibility of financial support from the Commonwealth. Programs like DRAP give our residents a better chance at being whole again after being devastated by Mother Nature. "
The program also provided essential assistance to residents displaced by apartment building fires in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Easton, and Reading.
Under the leadership of Gov. Shapiro, DRAP was established in 2023 to assist Pennsylvanians recovering from disaster when no other aid was available. The program currently awards grants up to $20,000 directly to eligible homeowners and renters who meet lower income thresholds, are uninsured or underinsured, or have not received other local, state, federal, non-governmental, or private aid.
The average DRAP grant for the July 2026 flooding in Blair and Huntingdon counties has provided $9,300 in disaster aid to affected individuals and families. During the most recent federally declared disaster, Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Households Program (FEMA IHP) provided an average of $8,800 per household.
FEMA’s IHP requires a Major Disaster Declaration which requires presidential approval, whereas the DRAP program requires a county to have a U.S. Small Business Administration Physical Disaster Declaration. The Small Business Administration declaration has a much lower damage threshold than FEMA’s IHP, which enables the Commonwealth to assist Pennsylvanians impacted by highly localized, yet significant disasters.
As the federal government is expected to reduce disaster funding to states, the Commonwealth is expanding the DRAP grants to help eligible municipalities make needed repairs to damaged critical public infrastructure not paid for by federal assistance, insurance or other funding sources.
Govenor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget authorized PEMA to expand DRAP to include grants for disaster-related municipal public infrastructure projects in addition to directly supporting disaster survivors. This DRAP expansion will allow municipalities to apply for grants to help with disaster debris removal and emergency protective measures to reduce disaster impacts. PEMA is currently developing program guidelines to include municipal governments.
