FEMA Should Recover $8.5 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the City of Gulfport, Mississippi, for Debris Removal and Emergency Protective Measures – Hurricane Katrina

The City received an award of $233.9 million from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in August 2005 The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent repairs to buildings and facilities. However, we limited the scope of our audit to debris removal and emergency protective measures (Categorie5 A and B), for which the City was awarded $86.6 million. Under Categories A and B, the award included 78 large and 73 small projects.