A FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant project can be a saving grace for a family whose property has been flooded repeatedly and will likely be flooded again.

The program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, administered by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and overseen by the locality, elevates a family’s home above the flood plain in hopes of saving it from future damage. Elevation also saves the federal government from having to shell out repeat insurance payments for a flooded property.

The program didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to for Mathews residents Wade and Susan Brooks. Their Garden Creek home near Onemo was elevated in 2010, but they never received an occupancy permit. Instead, they’ve been locked in litigation with Mathews County since 2011, with no effective end in sight. In spite of winning a lawsuit against the contractor who elevated the structure, they have received no money, and in January they lost their home to fore...