Program to provide extra disaster funds
Cities, counties hit hard by Harvey will have a chance at ‘hundreds of millions’ of dollars
AUSTIN — Cities and counties inundated by Hurricane Harvey will have an opportunity to tap hundreds of millions of dollars for disaster mitigation projects, the governor’s office plans to announce Tuesday.
The program will offer city and county governments a chance to submit projects — such as buyout programs, drainage projects, flood retention and elevation changes — they want the hazard mitigation funds to cover. The governor’s office said the program would make “hundreds of millions” of dollars available, but declined to release a specific dollar amount.
The money is separate from the nearly $90 billion Congress approved last week for disaster recovery in Texas and other states ravaged by disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. Although most of the $90 billion is for recovery, some is intended for the Army Corps of Engineers to use for further flood mitigation in the Houston area, such as improving reservoirs and widening bayous.
Gov. Greg Abbott will announce specifics of the new funding program in Rockport and again in Houston on Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making the money available to offer help mitigating future disasters in the wake of a catastrophe.
While the governor’s office said the program for the FEMA funds will launch on Tuesday, the federal agency won’t offer a final tally of the money it will offer until about a year after Hurricane Harvey.
The funding comes as federal, state and local leaders begin to coalesce around several ideas to help mitigate future flooding in the Houston area, although major changes likely won’t take hold before this year’s hurricane season.