Higher education institutions are facing a new operational reality. Severe weather events, flooding, wildfires, and public health emergencies are affecting campuses with increasing frequency and scale.
According to Climate Central, in 2025, the United States experienced 23 separate weather and climate disasters that each caused more than $1 billion in damages, resulting in approximately $115 billion in total losses.1
For campuses, disasters do far more than damage buildings, with recovery efforts often reaching tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Disasters disrupt enrollment cycles, interrupt research programs, displace students from housing, and strain operating budgets. Laboratories may lose years of research data. Athletic facilities and student housing can become unusable for extended periods. Infrastructure failures can affect entire campus systems.
In this environment, risk managers, CFOs, and governing boards must ensure institutions are prepared to recover efficiently, which includes not overlooking the importance of FEMA’s Public Assistance program in their risk management plan before an event occurs.
How FEMA Public Assistance Supports Higher Education
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides cost-sharing reimbursement to eligible applicants following federally declared disasters. Public and private nonprofit higher education institutions are eligible FEMA applicants.
FEMA supports several recovery categories: