The following is a review of additional disaster housing recovery developments since the last edition of Memo to Members and Partners (for the article in the previous Memo, see 5/20).
Midwest Flooding
Nebraska
FEMA extended the deadlines to apply for Individual Assistance to June 19 and Public Assistance to June 20. All Disaster Recovery Centers closed on May 17.
2018 California Wildfires
Construction on the Gridley Industrial Park, which is expected to accommodate 400 manufactured homes for Camp Fire survivors, will begin the week of May 20. The park is expected to open in July. An update from the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) reports that more than 300 households have received manufactured or temporary housing units across eight counties.
Hurricane Michael
Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis announced two new homeownership loan programs targeted to survivors of Hurricane Michael. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation expects to launch both programs in June.
Hurricane Florence
North Carolina
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety reports that 549 households are living in FEMA temporary housing units.
2017 Disasters
The Rebuild Florida program, which is funded with Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding, completed its first home repair on May 21. The program assists low-income homeowners, prioritizing seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children whose homes were damaged during Hurricane Irma.
The delay in a disaster aid package has left more than a million Americans in Puerto Rico without health and food aid. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) published a blog post about how the continued inaction is impacting low-income individuals. CBPP also created a series of videos sharing survivors’ stories.
The Texas state legislature recently passed a bill that would help ensure homeowners who receive disaster recovery assistance are protected from an increased tax liability after their homes are rebuilt.
CDBG-DR funds have been slow to reach survivors of the 2017 disasters. In Puerto Rico, communities are still waiting for programs to release information about eligibility, so survivors can submit applications. The delays with this round of funding underscore the issues with the current CDBG-DR program and the need for congressional authorization.