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HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania's Disaster Recovery Assistance Program has provided nearly $600,000 to residents recovering from disasters since the program was established in 2023, state officials announced.
The program, known as DRAP, has been activated 13 times and provides grants to individuals and families for temporary housing and rental costs, repairs needed to make homes livable and replacement of essential personal property.
The state has invested $20 million in the program over the past four budget cycles, including another $5 million in the 2026-27 state budget. Unused funding rolls over for future disaster needs.
DRAP has been used following disasters across Pennsylvania, including flash flooding in Blair and Huntingdon counties, as well as Clearfield, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Indiana, Somerset, Allegheny, Northampton and Berks counties. Assistance has also been provided following apartment building fires in several Pennsylvania cities.
The program provides grants of up to $20,000 to eligible homeowners and renters who meet lower-income thresholds and are uninsured or underinsured, or who have not received assistance from other government, nonprofit or private sources.
Following flooding in Blair and Huntingdon counties in July, DRAP grants averaged about $9,300 for affected individuals and families.
By comparison, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Households Program provided an average of about $8,800 per household following Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, according to the state.
Unlike FEMA’s program, which requires a presidential major disaster declaration, DRAP can be activated when a county receives a U.S. Small Business Administration Physical Disaster Declaration. The state said the lower damage threshold allows assistance to reach residents affected by smaller, localized disasters that may not qualify for federal aid.
One recent recipient was Frank Mulligan, who lost his apartment and belongings when a fire swept through the Hotel Hampton Apartments in Easton earlier this year. Mulligan learned about DRAP through a Multi-Agency Resource Center established following the fire and later received a grant. Six months after the fire, he had moved into a new apartment.
"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," Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield said.
The program is also being expanded to provide assistance to municipalities.
Under the expansion, eligible municipalities will be able to seek grants for repairs to critical public infrastructure not covered by federal assistance, insurance or other funding sources. Grants may also help pay for disaster debris removal and emergency protective measures. PEMA is developing guidelines for the municipal portion of the program.