Hurricane Francine made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, on September 11. Wind gusts of more than 100 miles per hour ripped roofs off buildings, and heavy rain and flooding have trapped residents in their homes. The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency on Wednesday night after half an inch of rain fell in nine minutes and four and a half inches of rain fell in three hours. The region had seen as many as eight inches of rain by Thursday morning, leading to multiple water rescues of trapped motorists. In Lafourche Parish, deputies from the sheriff’s office rescued 26 residents trapped in their homes.
The storm weakened into a tropical depression on Thursday morning as it continued up the Mississippi Valley. Around 12 million people remain under flood warnings, as rain and tornados are expected to continue, and approximately 318,000 customers have been left without power. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry stated that “power is the most important thing we need right now” and expressed his hopes that it could be fully restored by Sunday.
Access a parish-by-parish list of resources for Hurricane Francine Recovery in Louisiana. These resources include information about shelter, notable road closures, trash pickup, sandbag filling stations, and other recovery efforts.
Congressional and National Updates
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight held a field hearing in Maui, HI, regarding the federal response to the catastrophic August 2023 wildfires. Topics covered included the housing recovery response, hotel sheltering, financial assistance, and efforts to rebuild the town of Lahaina.
While the initial budget proposal released by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) included funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, the proposal did not include funding for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, the only source of federal funds for long-term housing recovery assistance. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) took to the Senate floor to stress the need to provide survivors on Maui and in other disasters with the flexible long term assistance offered by CDBG-DR. Congressional delegations from disaster-impacted states are raising pressure on congressional leadership to fund disaster recovery efforts.
Alaska
A record breaking glacial outburst near Juneau flooded at least 100 homes and forced 43 residents to spend time in emergency shelters. The Mendenhall River rose 15.99 feet, nearly a foot higher than during a flood the previous year, when it reached an unprecedented 15 feet. Melting of the Mendenhall Glacier means that flooding is now an annual occurrence, forcing residents to reconsider whether they can afford to stay in Juneau. The city faced an affordable housing shortage even before flooding became a regular occurrence, and damage repair only adds to housing costs.
California
The Boyles Fire in Lake County, CA, had burned through 90 acres as of September 8. The fire destroyed around 30 homes and upwards of 60 vehicles, including trailers and RVs. FEMA has approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant, which has led 4,000 people to evacuate. More than 60% of the county has been impacted by fires since the Valley Fire in 2015. Residents have reported wildfires “almost every year” for the past decade.
The Line, Airport, and Bridge Fires continue to burn as well. The Bridge fire, burning in the San Gabriel Mountains outside of San Bernardino, had increased to more than 13,000 acres and has burned three dozen homes. Meanwhile, the Line Fire, burning east of the Bridge Fire, is threatening 65,000 structures and had been only 21% contained at the time of writing. The Airport Fire in the Santa Ana Mountains, on the other side of San Bernadino, is still threatening 22,000 structures, but local evacuations were called off amid favorable weather conditions.
Florida
Hurricane Debby, which made landfall on August 5, led to extensive flooding across Florida. The hurricane brought “twice the amount of rain that was predicted,” according to Sarasota County fire chief David Rathbun. The intense rainfall led to flooding in neighborhoods outside of flood zones, leaving many uninsured residents to pay for the costly damages alone. FEMA Region 4 Flood Liaison Dewana Davis estimates that 30% of flood insurance claims paid by FEMA are outside of the special flood hazard area. Residents who previously had not felt the need for flood insurance are realizing the cost of such programs, which amount to, on average, $700 in high-risk areas through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. Norman Levine, director of Lowcountry Hazard Center, reports that flooding will only increase in historically unaffected areas.
Iowa
Iowa’s State Disaster Recovery New Housing Grant Program awarded $7.2 million to 11 housing construction projects across Iowa. Governor Kim Reynolds reported that the program supports counties eligible for Individual Assistance following severe flooding from earlier this year that impacted more than 5,000 homes. The funds will support 175 single-family and multi-family projects across six communities, including Cherokee, Rock Rapids, Rock Valley, and Spencer. Each project is eligible to receive up to $1 million, with preference to single-family detached units, duplexes, and townhouses. The program will continue until its $10 million capacity has been met, or December 31, 2024, whichever comes first.
Louisiana
In addition to seeing the impacts of Hurricane Francine, August 29 marked three years since Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana. Many survivors are still struggling to recover physically and mentally and do not feel prepared to weather another storm. Almost 900 Louisiana residents out of the 3,800 applicants who applied for the Direct Housing Program are still living in FEMA trailers. The trailer program is set to end on February 28, 2015.
Texas
Recovery continues following the South Fork and Salt fires and subsequent flooding around Ruidoso. More than 1,588 structured were destroyed by the fires, in addition to at least 200 homes destroyed by the flooding. The FBI continues to investigate a couple who possibly started 16 fires in the area, including the Salt Fire.
Since President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for New Mexico, more than $6 million in federal assistance has been approved by FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Impacted people may apply to SBA until August 19 at lending.sba.gov. Apply for FEMA assistance at disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-3362, or download the FEMA app.
Oregon
Numerous fires have broken out across Oregon in the past few weeks, causing destruction across the state and leading state fire officials to issue a Red Flag Warning. The National Interagency Fire Center reported that Oregon is the “highest national priority.” The Durkee Fire, Lone Rock Fire, Cow Valley Fire, and Falls Fire have all been labeled “mega fires” and have burned more than 100,000 acres each. Near the city of Ukiah, the Monkey Creek Fire, Snake Fire, and North Folk Owens Fires converged into the Battle Mountain Complex. Governor Tina Kotek requested additional aid for the Durkee and Battle Mountain Complex fires through the Emergency Conflagration Act on July 20.
As of July 20, the 80 active wildfires across Oregon had injured 25 people and destroyed around 40 homes and other structures. While some fires, such as those in the Battle Mountain Complex, have been caused by lightning strikes, more than 100 fires in the PNW region since June have been started by humans. The extreme heat and dry conditions recorded this summer have only increased fire risk. Nearly 20,000 Oregonians are under various levels of evacuation orders, with more than 4,000 under the Level 3 “Go Now” order as of early July 25. Information about Oregon’s evacuation information and shelter access can be found at wildfire.oregon.gov.
Texas
The Disaster Equity Data Portal, which visualizes FEMA data on disasters, released findings from Hurricane Beryl. More than 1 million households submitted applications (notably more than 100,000 more applications than Hurricane Harvey in 2017). Around 64% of applicants were eligible for financial assistance, although only 2.6% were eligible for financial housing assistance. See the report here. Despite less severe wind and rain from Beryl, the storm’s impact caused just as much damage as previous hurricanes.
On July 18, Airbnb announced that it would partner with Houston nonprofits to provide free temporary housing for people impacted by Beryl. Governor Greg Abbott announced that FEMA approved 17 counties for Transitional Sheltering Assistance and will waive assistance requirements for those who bought or rented generators between June 5 and June 20. Apply for assistance at disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-3362, or download the FEMA app.
Resilience and Mitigation Corner
FEMA Implements Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS)
HUD released a settlement during ongoing negotiations around agency-funded buyout programs in Harris County, TX. The settlement resolves complaints that the agency operated mandatory buyout programs in Hispanic neighborhoods while only offering voluntary buyouts and performing other hazard mitigation alternatives in majority white neighborhoods with comparable flood risk.
FEMA released a report on stakeholder engagement with regard to its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The report covers engagement efforts and feedback collected regarding the program.