Where FEMA money goes
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Illinois residents received more than $300 million in direct assistance from FEMA since 2015, per newly gathered data.
The big picture: The map above shows the total amount given to recipients in each U.S. state as part of FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (IHP) between January 2015 and April 2024.
- It's based on data collected by Sarah Labowitz of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace through Freedom of Information Act requests, and assembled into the "Disaster Dollar Database."
- The database covers 170 incidents for which IHP was activated, including hurricanes, floods, fires and more.
Why it matters: The numbers illustrate Americans' urgent financial needs in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Helene, and more will be needed as Florida's western coast faces Hurricane Milton.
How it works: FEMA's Individuals and Households Program is meant as an immediate financial lifeline for people whose lives have been upended by natural disasters, not as an insurance replacement.
Zoom out: Florida, Louisiana and Texas residents have received the lion's share of direct assistance since 2015.
Zoom in: IHP money given to Illinois was from severe storms and flooding in 2022 and 2023, which is why we are ahead of New York and California.