Alabama is set to receive $76.5 million in federal recovery funding as part of a broader $285 million allocation announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support disaster recovery efforts across five southeastern states.

The funding, directed through FEMA’s Public Assistance program, will help state and local governments recover from recent disasters by covering costs tied to debris removal, emergency protective measures and the repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure.

In Alabama, the approved $76.5 million will go to health care providers to reimburse expenses tied to efforts to reduce or eliminate the spread of COVID-19. The funding reflects ongoing federal support for pandemic-related costs that strained hospitals and medical systems across the state.

The regional allocation also includes $14.7 million for Augusta-Richmond County in Georgia for debris removal following Hurricane Helene, $6.6 million for Mississippi health care providers for COVID-19 mitigation efforts, $2.4 million for Newberry Electric Cooperative in South Carolina to restore its electrical system to pre-disaster conditions and $2.5 million for the town of Jonesborough, Tennessee to repair its water distribution system.

The $285 million package is part of a larger $1.2 billion FEMA announced for more than 200 major Public Assistance projects nationwide. The agency said the funding is being distributed as it works to address a backlog of requests.

Even as the federal government faces a lapse in appropriations, now 68 days and the longest in U.S. history, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security continue to deliver disaster recovery resources. The lapse has significantly reduced the balance of the Disaster Relief Fund, the primary source of federal funding used to respond to and recover from presidentially declared disasters.

FEMA officials said the agency will continue working with Alabama and other Region 4 states to support ongoing, state-led recovery efforts in communities impacted by disasters.