US DHS Announces $1.6Bln in Grants to Boost Catastrophe Preparedness

The US government has allocated $1.6 billion for ten preparedness grant programs to boost the country’s readiness for major disasters and terrorist attacks, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The DHS grant program provides funding to US state and local governments, along with transportation authorities’ private companies, which helps improve US preparedness in emergencies, according to the press release.

"The FY [fiscal year] 2016 grant guidance will continue to focus on the nation’s highest risk areas, including urban areas that face the most significant threats," the press release said on Tuesday.

Twenty-nine "high-threat, high-density urban areas" will receive funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative, the press release added.