fema-mcp-server

Query FEMA disaster declarations, public assistance grants, housing aid, and NFIP claims.

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What it can do

    What data it sees

    Do you need an account

    No: the server works without sign-in

    Query FEMA disaster declarations, public assistance grants, housing aid, and NFIP claims.

    How to connect

    How to connect fema-mcp-server to Claude

    The server address to paste into Claude settings:

    https://fema.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
    2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
    3. Click Add custom connector.
    4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
    5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

    Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

    Authorization

    After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

    How to connect fema-mcp-server to ChatGPT

    The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

    https://fema.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
    2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
    3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
    4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
    5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
    6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

    OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

    Authorization

    On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

    How to connect fema-mcp-server to Cursor

    The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

    https://fema.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

    Manually:

    1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
    2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
    3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

    Authorization

    If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

    Server tool list (8)

    Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

    fema_search_disastersSearch federal disaster declarations by state, incident type, declaration type, date range, and county. Returns deduplicated declaration-level summaries — each disaster number appears once with a designatedAreaCount showing how many counties/municipalities were designated. The disaster number is the chain key for fema_get_disaster, fema_get_public_assistance, and fema_get_housing_assistance. Use declaration_type to filter: DR (major disaster, most common), EM (emergency), FM (fire management). Date filters apply to the declaration date. Use fema_get_disaster to retrieve all designated-area rows for a specific declaration.
    fema_get_disasterFetch all designated-area rows for a specific FEMA disaster by disaster number (e.g., 4781). Returns every county/municipality designated under the declaration along with programs activated, incident period, and state info. Use fema_search_disasters to find disaster numbers. The returned disaster_number chains to fema_get_public_assistance and fema_get_housing_assistance.
    fema_get_public_assistanceRetrieve Public Assistance (PA) funded project records for a disaster or state — shows where federal recovery money was obligated. Returns applicant, damage category, project size and status, federal share obligated, and total obligated amounts. Either disaster_number or state must be provided. Use disaster_number (from fema_search_disasters) to scope to a single declaration, or state to browse all PA projects for a state. PA projects are created only when the PA program is declared (pa_declared: true on the disaster).
    fema_get_housing_assistanceRetrieve Individual Assistance (IA) housing data for a disaster by disaster number. Returns owner and/or renter breakdowns by county and ZIP code — valid registrations, total approved IHP amounts, repair/rental amounts, and inspection data. Use type to select owners, renters, or both (default). Use disaster_number from fema_search_disasters.
    fema_search_nfipSearch National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data by state, county, ZIP code, and year range. Returns claim counts, amounts paid on building and contents, flood zones, and loss years. state is required — the full NFIP dataset is 2.7 million rows; unfiltered access is prohibited. When DataCanvas is enabled (CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPE=duckdb) and results exceed the inline preview, the full result set is staged on a canvas for SQL aggregation via fema_dataframe_query. Use fema_dataframe_describe to inspect the staged table schema before writing SQL. Without canvas, results are returned inline up to the limit.
    fema_dataframe_queryRun a read-only SQL SELECT against a DataCanvas table staged by fema_search_nfip. Enables aggregation, GROUP BY, SUM/COUNT, time-series, and filtered analysis over the full NFIP claims result without re-fetching from the API. Call fema_dataframe_describe first to get the exact table name and column names needed for valid SQL. Only SELECT statements are allowed — DDL, DML, COPY, and file-reading functions are blocked.
    fema_dataframe_describeList tables and column schemas on a DataCanvas staged by fema_search_nfip. Call this before fema_dataframe_query to discover the exact table name, column names, and DuckDB data types needed to write valid SQL. Row count reflects what was actually staged — check truncated in the fema_search_nfip response to know whether the canvas holds the full matching set.
    fema_query_datasetGeneric OData query against any OpenFEMA v2 dataset — the escape hatch for datasets the convenience tools do not cover (e.g., FimaNfipPolicies, IndividualAssistanceHousingRegistrantsLargeDisasters, FemaWebDeclarationAreas, PublicAssistanceApplicants). Accepts raw OData filter, select, orderby, and pagination parameters. For NFIP Policies, use propertyState (not state) as the state field — always include a county or ZIP filter to avoid timeout. The dataset name must match the exact OpenFEMA v2 entity name (case-sensitive, e.g., FimaNfipClaims). Unknown dataset names return an unknown_dataset error.