GENERAL UPDATES
- Third Supplemental Request from Administration Anticipated. The Trump administration is expected to send to Congress its third supplemental funding request for disaster aid this week. After combining the funding requests from the states and territories impacted by recent natural disasters, the aid package requested by the administration could be as high as $200 billion. However, it remains unclear when lawmakers will take up the request given the packed legislative agenda and the upcoming Thanksgiving recess. It also remains to be seen if the administration will request that any emergency funding be offset by cuts to other important programs.
- Puerto Rico Requests $94.4 Billion. On Monday, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló sent a letter and a 90-page plan to President Trump, requesting $94.4 in additional disaster aid to help the island rebuild and recover from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. From that amount, Governor Roselló is seeking more than $46 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, $31 billion of which would go to repairing or rebuilding the more than 472,000 housing units that were severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes.
The letter notes that Puerto Rico lost a substantial portion of its housing stock, at a time when safe and decent housing is in high demand, and that families with low income or who have special needs have been particularly impacted by these losses. As a result, the letter states, “it is anticipated that temporary housing solutions for those affected by the hurricanes will be needed for months or, in some cases years. This produces a temporary recovery need for residents that includes rental assistance as well as repair and mitigation.” The letter seems to suggest these programs will be operated by the local Puerto Rican government, not a partnership between HUD and FEMA.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
FEMA
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 3,954 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $10,491,449 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $6,758,651 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $3,732,799 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
- FEMA Recovery Efforts. A release from FEMA provides additional numbers regarding recovery efforts in California as of November 9.
- 73% of requested site inspections are complete.
- 199 families (469 individuals) are housed through the TSA program.
- 100% of household hazardous waste has been completed in four counties, and 70% has been completed in the others.
- 1,369 loan applications have been submitted to the Small Business Administration from homeowners.
- $27 million has been approved by SBA.
HURRICANE MARIA
FEMA
Puerto Rico
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 227,811 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $134,604,863 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $30,068,559 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $104,536,304 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $426,691,550 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all for emergency work
(Categories A-B)**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and
approval of Public Assistance projects.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 792,757 referrals
- 537,851 pending applications
- 1,297 withdrawn
- 10,014 ineligible
U.S. Virgin Islands
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 3,330 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $3,602,632 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $1,715,350 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $1,887,282 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $72,362,113 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all for emergency work
(Categories A-B)**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 15,859 referrals
- 11,556 pending applications
- 73 withdrawn
- 536 ineligible
Local Perspective
- Florida Response to Puerto Rico Evacuees. According to reports from an NLIHC member organization, approximately 143,000 people from Puerto Rico have arrived in Florida, and another 3,000 are waiting to be flown to Florida. FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management are coordinating to provide assistance to evacuees. TSA is already available for short-term housing assistance in hotels. However, other disaster recovery housing resources, such as short-term rental assistance, is not available to those interested in staying in Florida long-term. FEMA still recommends these individuals and households register with FEMA in case these other resources are activated for evacuees from Puerto Rico.
HURRICANE IRMA
FEMA
Florida
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 739,966 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $910,144,650 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $625,502,934 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $284,641,715 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 1,885,007 referrals
- 273,386 pending applications
- 85,121 withdrawn
- 513,671 ineligible
- 20,417 participants in TSA
- Public Assistance Deadline Extension. The deadline for state and local governments and private nonprofits to file a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) has been extended to November 21. Filing an RPA is the first step in receiving federal assistance for debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster, and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities.
Georgia
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 8,962 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $12,172,217 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $8,886,941 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $3,285,276 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $26,488 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all for emergency work
(Categories A-B)**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 27,005 referrals
- 5,093 pending applications
- 1,822 withdrawn
- 8,151 ineligible
Puerto Rico
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 923 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $2,015,149 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $1,063,043 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $952,106 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $2,871,448 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all for emergency work
(Categories A-B)**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 3,312 referrals
- 1,411 pending applications
- 117 withdrawn
- 861 ineligible
U.S. Virgin Islands
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 3,886 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $5,888,156 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $3,686,640 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $2,201,516 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $25,567,068 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all for emergency work
(Categories A-B)**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 11,821 referrals
- 6,292 pending applications
- 145 withdrawn
- 984 ineligible
HURRICANE HARVEY
FEMA
Texas
- By the Numbers: (as of 11/13)
- 350,297 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $1,384,985,374 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $1,078,539,881 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $306,445,493 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $485,328,434 Total Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated**
- $422,390,309 Emergency Work (Categories A-B) obligated**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
- Individual Assistance Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 730,699 referrals
- 44,551 pending applications
- 45,842 withdrawn
- 249,241 ineligible
- 52,050 participants in TSA
Local Perspectives
- Additional Recovery Numbers. The Weekly Update from the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas provides some additional numbers on the recovery efforts in Texas. All numbers are as of November 8.
- 914 Requests for FEMA Public Assistance from jurisdictions
- 887,146 applications for FEMA Individual Assistance received
- 48,439 participants in TSA
- 557,338 inspections completed by FEMA
- Struggles on the Texas Coast. On November 8, mayors and county officials from along the Texas Coast testified before a Texas House Appropriations Committee about the continuing difficulties their communities are facing. They described the complete lack of housing available in small towns such as Fulton, Rockport, Port Aransas, and Refugio. Many of these towns do not have the financial capacity to rebuild or provide resources without some assistance. The local elected officials expressed frustration with the process, saying they are often continuously referred to another agency when looking for answers.