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 9/30).
Federal Action & National News
While speaking on the House floor, Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) called on FEMA to release interim federal rules regarding federal disaster recovery grants reimbursing state and local governments for infrastructure repairs.
The National Governors Association published a white paper with recommendations on how to improve state disaster preparedness and resiliency.
Politifact published an article looking at the veracity of claims surrounding the Trump administration’s decision to use money from FEMA’s budget to pay for border-patrol detention operations.
Tropical Storm Imelda
Texas
Tropical Storm Imelda’s landfall has again challenged Houston and southeast Texas’ ability to withstand catastrophic storm flooding. Some emergency response services were vastly improved, but much work remains to be done.
Survivors of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Imelda still do not know if they will qualify for FEMA Individual Assistance.
California Wildfires
Over the past several decades, affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area has been pushed out to wildfire zones, making lower-income individuals even more susceptible to natural disasters.
A grant from two California foundations is allowing Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) member Community Housing Improvement Program to build several affordable housing communities in Butte County. The area lost approximately 14% of its housing stock in the 2018 Camp Fire.
Fire survivors in Santa Rosa protested a decision by insurance companies to end rental assistance payments to disaster survivors. The payments help survivors rent homes in the area while they recover from the 2017 fires.
Hurricane Michael & Hurricane Dorian
Florida
Mexico City Beach is still feeling the economic effects of Hurricane Michael. Almost a year later, businesses are still trying to regain the momentum that was lost due to reduced staff caused largely by the lack of affordable housing in the area.
The changing climate and resulting extreme weather has created an uneasy relationship with mortgage lenders and homeowners in hurricane-prone zones such as those in Florida. An unease is especially felt by low-income disaster survivors, who often lack access to assistance during disaster recovery.
Hurricane Florence & Hurricane Dorian
North Carolina
The Wilmington area is still trying to recover from Hurricane Florence, focusing on affordable housing. Disaster recovery groups like Golden LEAF have been assisting area families most impacted by the storm.
2017 Disasters
Hurricane Maria and Irma: A recent report by the Federal Reserve finds that while the Puerto Rico economy has somewhat improved since Hurricanes Maria and Irma struck the island, the economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands is still “mired in a deep slump.”
Hurricane Maria: Immigrants living in Puerto Rico have struggled to put their lives back together after Hurricane Maria. Experts say, however, that many improvements achieved since the storm are due in great part to the immigrants who stayed and persevered.