Agencies

Use FEMA Grants Only for Disaster-Related Expenses

Published: 12 August 2025
Categories: FEMA News

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

AUSTIN, Texas – As eligible Texas flood survivors start to receive funds from FEMA for rent, home repairs and other categories of assistance, be assured that disaster assistance funds are tax-free.

When you receive your award letter, FEMA will notify you of the appropriate use of disaster assistance funds. FEMA will also remind you to use the money only for disaster-related expenses.

Ten counties are designated for federal assistance for the July 2-18 severe storms and flooding in Central Texas: Burnet, Guadalupe, Kerr, Kimble, McCulloch, Menard, San Saba, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson.

If you applied and were approved for FEMA assistance, you will receive a check. You may also receive a direct deposit payment, if you chose to have the money deposited into your bank account. Your award letter will arrive within a day or two after that digital payment or check.

Disaster assistance can include grants for hotel stays or other temporary housing and for basic repairs for flood damage to your home. The money can also be used to help you repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged by the disaster.

Disaster grants are not for regular living expenses such as utilities, food, travel, entertainment, or any discretionary expenses not directly related to the disaster.

If you spend the grants on anything other than their intended purpose, you may be denied future

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Revised Preliminary Flood Maps for El Paso County, Texas Ready for Public View

Published: 8 August 2025
Categories: FEMA News

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

DENTON, Texas – Revised Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are available for review by residents and business owners in the city of El Paso; the towns of Anthony, Clint and Horizon City; the village of Vinton; and unincorporated areas of El Paso County, Texas.

Property owners are encouraged to review the latest information to learn about local flood risks and potential future flood insurance requirements. Community residents can identify any concerns or questions about the information provided and participate in the appeal and comment periods for the maps.

This is El Paso County’s first complete set of digital FIRMs. These maps serve multiple purposes, including defining Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs). SFHAs are areas at high risk for flooding. Community leaders can use these maps to make informed decisions about building standards and development that will make the community more resilient and lessen the impacts of a flooding event.

FEMA stresses that flooding can and does happen outside of the most vulnerable areas.

Review the revised preliminary flood maps by visiting the local floodplain administrator (FPA). A FEMA Map Specialist can help identify community FPAs. Specialists are available by telephone at 877-FEMA-MAP (877-336-2627) or by email at [email protected].

The revised preliminary maps may also be viewed online:

For more information about the flood maps:

There are cost-saving options available for those newly mapped into a high-risk flood zone. Learn more

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NSF invests $29.2 million in EPSCoR Research Infrastructure collaborations for transformative impact across 11 jurisdictions

Published: 8 August 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced six major awards through its EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (FEC), investing $29.2 million across 11 jurisdictions to strengthen research capacity and drive translational research across the nation.

These four-year awards aim to catalyze transformative research and infrastructure enhancement in states historically underfunded in federal research. The selected projects span critical areas, including use-inspired research in the study of Earth systems, wildfire management, water resource management, ecosystem and human health risks, functionality of electronic devices, biotechnology and artificial intelligence-driven health care.

“These EPSCoR FEC awards are an example of NSF’s commitment to ensuring that all states and jurisdictions across the United States have the opportunity to be part of our research enterprise and benefit from the jobs and economic prosperity that result from American innovation,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “These multi-state collaborative teams are tackling real-world research challenges that matter to the citizens of their regions while also building competitive research environments for the entire nation.”

This year’s FEC awards include:

Optical properties of mineral dust aerosols: Building capacity for use-inspired applications through experimental and theoretical investigations (Nevada System of Higher Education – Desert Research Institute, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus and University of Wyoming) — Mineral dust aerosols are significant in the atmosphere, affecting radiative forcing, ecosystem fertilization,

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NSF invests nearly $32M to accelerate novel AI-driven approaches in protein design, strengthening the U.S. bioeconomy

Published: 7 August 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) announced an inaugural investment of nearly $32 million to five teams across the U.S. through the NSF Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (NSF USPRD) initiative. This effort aims to accelerate the translation of artificial intelligence-based approaches to protein design and enable new applications of importance to the U.S. bioeconomy.

“NSF is pleased to bring together experts from both industry and academia to confront and overcome barriers to the widespread adoption of AI-enabled protein design,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for TIP. “Each of the five awardees will focus on developing novel approaches to translate protein design techniques into practical, market-ready solutions. These efforts aim to unlock new uses for this technology in biomanufacturing, advanced materials, and other critical industries. Simply put, NSF USPRD represents a strategic investment in maintaining American leadership in biotechnology at a time of intense global competition.”

Researchers have made significant progress in predicting the 3D structures of proteins and are now leveraging this knowledge to design proteins with specific, desirable characteristics. These advances have been driven by macromolecular modeling, access to training data, applications of AI and machine learning, and high-throughput methods for protein characterization. The NSF USPRD investment seeks to build on this foundation by bringing together cross-disciplinary and cross-sector experts nationwide. The goal is to

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