Hurricane Harvey took a major hit on the Texas coast this past August, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. Many of the homes and businesses that suffered damages were not covered by insurance or other resources. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has granted Texas with $5 billion to be used towards recovery efforts according to this recent HOUSINGWIRE article by Ben Lane.
Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that HUD is providing more than $5 billion to the state of Texas to be used for the recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey.
Specifically, HUD awarded $5.024 billion to help “hard-hit” areas in Texas recover from the damage caused by Harvey.
Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast at the end of August into the beginning of October, wreaking havoc on South Texas and destroying thousands of homes.
The money from HUD comes in the form of a grant from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program and will be used to support the repair of damaged homes, businesses and critical infrastructure in the state.
In determining how to allocate the money to Texas, HUD used information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration on the number of seriously damaged homes that lack adequate insurance, as well as businesses that failed to qualify for SBA’s disaster loan program.
According to HUD, more than 230,000 homes suffered damage from Harvey, including approximately 65,000 with serious damage that is not covered by other sources.
Additionally, there are More than 4,000 businesses that also suffered serious damage from flooding, which is not covered by insurance or other resources.
HUD’s grant is designed to meet needs not being met by private insurance or other sources of federal assistance.
“As President Trump has said from the beginning, the whole federal family is with the people of Texas to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a statement. “HUD will work with Governor Abbott and his staff to do whatever is needed to rebuild damaged homes and to restore shuttered businesses in some of the hardest-hit areas of the State.”
Read the full article: HUD gives $5 billion for Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Texas
