National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill renews and updates the national earthquake safety program. It adds Tribal governments as full partners and shifts focus to keeping buildings and key services usable after quakes (“functional recovery”). It expands work beyond design and construction to include evaluating and retrofitting existing buildings and infrastructure, and it recognizes hazards like tsunamis, landslides, and fires that can follow earthquakes . Agencies are directed to develop and share practical standards and guidelines, help communities inventory high‑risk buildings and lifelines, and offer technical help on evaluating and retrofitting them .

It strengthens early warning and public alerts. The U.S. Geological Survey must expand the earthquake early warning system to more high‑risk areas, coordinate with NOAA and FEMA, and work with the FCC to send fast, reliable alerts in the main languages of the affected region. It can also issue aftershock forecasts when appropriate . FEMA must provide technical assistance for evacuation plans for earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis . Agencies must carry out recommendations to cut reoccupancy and recovery time and report progress every two years starting September 30, 2025 . Funding is set for 2024–2028, including $100.9 million each year for USGS (with at least $36 million yearly for the Advanced National Seismic System), $58 million yearly for NSF, and $5.9 million yearly for NIST .

• Who is affected: State, local, and Tribal governments; homeowners and renters in quake‑prone areas; engineers, builders, and utility operators; schools, hospitals, and other community‑critical sites .
• What changes: More help to find and fix risky buildings and lifelines; stronger, clearer standards aimed at faster reoccupancy; wider, faster, multilingual alerts; support for evacuation planning; recognition of multiple quake‑related hazards, including tsunamis and fires .
• When: Agency progress reports begin by September 30, 2025; funding authorizations run through fiscal year 2028 .