Emergency Relief Program

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DISASTER FIRST STEPS (for funding assistance to local agencies)

Immediately Contact your local CalOES representative to report damages (CalOES Rep)
Report federal on-system roadway disaster damage to Caltrans (IDE Form)

Hot Topics/New News

New Potential ER Disasters

Late February 2026 Storm
- Storm damage indicated in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties in late February
- Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation not yet released
- Please submit Initial Damage Estimates for any local damage to ER.IDE.Submittals@dot.ca.gov
Late December 2025 Storms
- Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta issued on 12/24/25
- More than $700,000 in local damage reported – ER letter of intent to be submitted to FHWA upon release of additional proclamations

November 2025 Southern California storms
- Considerable rainfall in Southern California in mid-November
- Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation not yet released
- More than $700,000 in local damage reported in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara Counties but no Governor’s proclamation has been released

Latest ER Disasters
- CA25-8 August 2025 Gifford Fire
  - Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties due to the Gifford Fire
  - Finding of Eligibility received from FHWA on 1/26/26
  - Disaster Start Date: 8/1/25
  - DAF due date extended to: 4/30/26
- CA25-7 September 2025 Storms
  - Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation for Imperial and San Bernardino Counties issued on 12/23/25
  - Finding of Eligibility received from FHWA on 1/26/26
  - Disaster Start Date: 9/18/25
  - DAF due date extended to: 3/31/26
Quick Release (QR) Funds
- No QR funds currently available
Did You Realize…
- The DAF deadlines, disaster begin dates, and the EO 100% reimbursement end date for each disaster is on this ER web site. See the Disaster Information link (bullet in Emergency Relief Program Websites side menu), then click on the ER Project Disaster Information link.
- You can find disaster Proclamations and other official, ER related documents on this ER web site. Check out the Disaster Declarations link in the Emergency Relief Program Websites side bar, then scroll to the second table on the page (below the Disaster Proclaimed Events and Locations table).

The Program

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Emergency Relief (ER) Program was authorized by Congress to repair or reconstruct federal-aid routes that have suffered serious damage as a direct result of a declared event (see Title 23, United States Code, Section 125). The program is available to State and Local Agency transportation departments with roads suffering serious damage from natural disasters or catastrophic failures from external causes. ER funding is intended to supplement resources from States, localities and other Federal agencies to help in the repair of facilities damaged by eligible events.

Important Note

Local agencies reporting disaster damage information must report their damages to both CalOES and Caltrans, separately. CalOES and Caltrans separately administer different disaster relief funding programs, with very different requirements. For this reason, local agencies will need to make sure they are sharing all their disaster damage information separately, with both CalOES and Caltrans. Local agencies should not assume the information shared with Caltrans will be shared with CalOES. If the local agency is unsure of who their CalOES contact is they should call their CalOES region to find out. CalOES regional contact information can be obtained on the web at: Regional Operations.