Boston — On Monday, September 15, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $28.7 million in grants to help 54 Massachusetts communities prepare for increasingly extreme weather—including heat waves, flooding, wildfires, and storms. This year, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) made a targeted effort to recruit rural and small towns into the Massachusetts Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant program, with $11.1 million going specifically to those areas.
The funding supports real, on-the-ground improvements—such as rebuilding parks with shaded spaces where residents can cool off during heat waves, protecting wetlands that reduce flooding in neighborhoods, and designing safer, more affordable housing on higher ground. Other projects include new wildfire evacuation routes, culvert upgrades to stop roads from washing out, and emergency plans to protect people most at risk.
“Communities across Massachusetts are already feeling the impacts of rising heat, flooding, and other extreme weather. These grants give them the ability to prepare before disaster strikes—protecting homes, public spaces, and essential services,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “Preparation is the most affordable, effective way to protect people and avoid much higher costs down the road.”