DENTON, Texas — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $3.4 million to the state of Texas for the construction of two community safe rooms in the city of Kingsville in Kleberg County, Texas.

The concrete dome shaped safe rooms will serve as multi-purpose training centers; one will be 20,000 square feet in size and the other will be 18,000 square feet in size. Both will provide protection from storms and tornadoes for the people of Kleberg County, including those with access and functional needs, as well as special medical needs. 

FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) will pay 75 percent of the more than $4.5 million total costs for the projects, which are being built under the Texas Safe Shelter Initiative.

The federal shares of the funds for the projects come from the agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). HMGP provides grants to states, and tribal and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures that reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. 

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