Following the signing into law of the Continuing Resolution passed on September 30, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will resume funding for more than 2,400 projects across the country. The agency has lifted Immediate Needs Funding (INF) restrictions that had impeded the allocation of $3 billion for states to rebuild from recent disasters. Likewise, the $16 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund requested by the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) in mid-August can now be used for long-term rebuilding projects.
FEMA had halted funding for long-term projects on August 29 due to budget constraints. INF restrictions limited spending to emergency items such as temporary shelters and road clearing immediately after a disaster. This was the first time FEMA had imposed “immediate needs funding” restrictions since 2017. Meanwhile, FEMA was forced to withhold funding for 2,400 nonemergency projects, including the repair and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.
The $16 billion allocated to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund was part of a temporary spending package approved by Congress just a day before fiscal year 2023 wrapped up. This special allocation was passed to enable FEMA to continue operating in full. By this point, the agency’s disaster fund had dwindled to about $2 billion.
The DHRC celebrates the provision of disaster assistance in the Continuing Resolution and continues to call on congressional leadership to permanently authorize HUD’s long-term disaster recovery program by including the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” in the future spending bill.
Congressional and National Updates
During the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit meeting at the White House on September 25, President Biden renewed the national commitment to enhancing our partnership with the Pacific Islands and their respective governments. Part of this commitment was a promise to strengthen regional disaster preparedness. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $12.2 million to bolster local, national, and regional disaster preparedness and capacity-building interventions throughout the Pacific Islands. USAID also continues to support the Federated States of Micronesia’s recovery from Typhoon Wutip, which made landfall in 2019, and is providing $6.3 million of additional disaster assistance to support ongoing efforts to reconstruct housing and public infrastructure.
FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians to supplement tribal recovery efforts in the areas affected by Tropical Storm Hilary, which impacted California on August 19-21.
The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released a report on September 28 outlining a comprehensive, consensus-based set of recommendations to Congress for addressing the nation’s wildfire crisis. The Commission, created by President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation and unveiled in December 2021, was charged with making recommendations to Congress to improve federal policies related to the mitigation, suppression, and management of wildland fires in the U.S. and the rehabilitation of land devastated by wildland fires.
FEMA announced on September 5 that FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and NAACP President Derrick Johnson had signed an agreement outlining ways in which the two organizations will work together to help people before, during, and after disasters.
An editorial in the Palm Beach Post addresses legislation introduced recently to remove FEMA from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and argues that doing so would speed disaster response.
State and Local Updates
Florida
HUD announced on September 20 a package of 29 regulatory and administrative waivers meant to help communities in Florida accelerate their recovery from Hurricane Idalia. The announcement of waivers builds on other support HUD is providing in the wake of the storm. The regulatory and administrative relief will cover the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, as well as the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) and the Housing Trust Fund.
Governor Ron DeSantis provided updates about Hurricane Ian recovery efforts on September 28, one year after the hurricane made landfall in southwest Florida. To supplement FEMA’s Direct Housing Program, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) initiated Florida’s first-ever State Led Non-Congregate Sheltering Program to provide trailers and recreational vehicles to impacted Floridians who may not be eligible for FEMA assistance. To date, 1,162 households have received travel trailers through thi8s program. The state also initiated the Sheltering in Home for Recovery Continuation Program, which facilitates habitability repairs for homes damaged by Hurricane Ian through the support of volunteer organizations and a partnership with Home Depot. Through this program, work orders have been issued to volunteer organizations for 843 homes totaling more than $6.3 million. Hurricane Ian damaged or destroyed 35,000 homes in Florida.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that six people died by suicide in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, with one 65-year-old man in Cape Coral leaving a note that made reference to the destruction of his home. Research has found that up to half of those people who live through a disaster struggle afterwards with anxiety and depression, substance use, or post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting in many cases in an increase in suicide.
Hawaii
The Red Cross initiated its Safe Harbor program in Hawaii following the Maui wildfires, but the program period is set to run out on September 29. At that point, those who did not apply or do not qualify for Red Cross or FEMA disaster assistance will need to find new housing. According to Nicole Huguenin, co-director of Maui Rapid Response, there are at least 115 Lāhainā residents in this category who are unable to return to their former homes. Without a clear transitional housing plan in place, people are being given fewer than 24 hours’ notice to leave their current housing. According to Huguenin, there has been a lack of clarity from FEMA, Red Cross, and the state government regarding next steps. A spokesperson from Governor Josh Green’s office suggested that the decision to extend the Safe Harbor program period was up to FEMA, but FEMA has claimed that the program is under the direction of the Red Cross. Meanwhile, the Red Cross has asserted that individuals will be allowed to remain in hotels until “additional sheltering options are finalized.”
During a September 28 Senate field hearing focused on Maui, lawmakers urged state agencies to do more to protect consumers. Witnesses described being compelled to make mortgage payments on homes that have been destroyed while also paying rent on replacement housing. Claims have been left pending for months, while survivors wait for answers regarding how much they will be granted. People filing claims with FEMA are asked when they file whether they have insurance; if they do, their claims are promptly turned down, and they are directed to seek funds from their insurers. However, this system leaves some people in limbo, caught between the slow processing of insurance claims and FEMA bureaucracy. Others have suggested that some insurance adjusters are denying claims by examining aerial photographs of properties and ruling that the properties look intact from the sky, even when owners believe the properties to be much more severely damaged.
FEMA announced that President Biden has made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Hawaii to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires. On September 22, the President authorized an increase to 100% of the total eligible costs for debris removal for a continuous 180-day period of the state’s choosing within the first nine months from the start of the incident period.
Kentucky
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland released a report outlining insights gathered in the wake of a July 2022 flood in eastern Kentucky that caused 44 deaths, damaged 9,000 homes, and resulted in federal declarations for 13 disaster areas. Among other findings, the report shows that the cost of flood insurance can be prohibitive, that floods exacerbate affordable housing shortages, and that the pre-existing weakness of local labor markets will likely impact housing recovery, particularly due to the lack of skilled trade workers.
Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse will dedicate 16 homes in a 60-home subdivision to Kentucky tornado survivors, free of charge.
Maine
The federal government is expanding a pilot program intended to help low-income residents in rural Maine repair storm damaged homes if they live in a Presidentially Declared Disaster Area. The pilot program lowers the age to apply to 18 from 62, reimburses costs spent on repairs made to homes in previously announced Presidential Disaster Declaration areas, and finances the relocation of mobile homes and manufactured housing to safer locations. The pilot program will cover damage caused by natural disasters that have occurred since July 18, 2022, and through the next two years.
New York
Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on September 22 establishing a flood risk “right to know” for potential homebuyers aimed at safeguarding them against growing risks from flooding and related disasters. Previously, sellers were permitted to waive disclosure agreements by offering a $500 credit at closing. The new bill, Assembly Bill A1967, “requires disclosure of information concerning flood insurance on property condition disclosure statements [and] relates to liability with respect to property disclosures.” In addition to the flood risk disclosure bill, Hochul also signed a law mandating that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation “implement permit regulations and guidance pertaining to nature-based solutions for shoreline management.”
Tennessee
FEMA announced on September 27 that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the State of Tennessee through a major disaster declaration to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that struck Tennessee on August 7, 2023. The action makes public assistance federal funding available to affected state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities in Bledsoe, Coffee, Cumberland, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Meigs, Rhea, Roane and Van Buren counties.
Texas
Despite ongoing efforts, areas of southeast Texas impacted by Hurricane Harvey have experienced slow disaster recoveries, made worse by repeated floods in recent years. The result is a spiral of decline that threatens entire communities.