The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition convenes and supports disaster-impacted communities to ensure that federal disaster recovery efforts reach all impacted households, including the lowest-income and most marginalized people who are often the hardest-hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover.
Learn more about the DHRC’s policy recommendations here.
Congress
The Associated Press reports that ahead of President Biden’s scheduled visit to Lake Charles and New Orleans on Thursday (5/6), U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is asking the president to support disaster aid to help the state recover from the 2020 hurricanes. Senator Cassidy and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) sent a letter to the White House seeking support for disaster assistance for communities dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and severe winter weather over the past year.
Federal disaster relief funding that prioritizes property value over need exacerbates existing racial inequalities, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis told lawmakers at the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance’s hearing on May 4. “The poorest neighborhoods in Harris County are the hardest hit during storms, floods and other natural disasters, but they received the least amount of resources to recover, rebuild and build resiliency against the next load,” Ellis testified. Watch a recording of the virtual hearing, “Built to Last: Examining Housing Resilience in the Face of Climate Change.”
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD’s Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division (DRSI) published volume 2 of its newsletter, the “DRSI Digest,” on April 26. Volume 2 focuses on resilience while celebrating grantee successes, spotlights the Fort Worth Region, shares important information and announcements, and highlights accomplishments like Federal Register notices, grantee toolkits, and webinars.
An article in Housing Policy Debate, “Deemed Ineligible: Reasons Homeowners in Puerto Rico Were Denied Aid After Hurricane Maria,” identifies several key reasons homeowner applicants were denied or received insufficient assistance from FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program after Hurricane Maria. Read NLIHC’s Memo article (5/3) to learn more.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
The IRS released a statement on May 4 reminding everyone that now is a good time to create or review emergency preparedness plans for surviving natural disasters. May includes National Hurricane Preparedness Week and National Wildfire Awareness Month.
Wildfires
AccuWeather meteorologists say the U.S. could experience another potentially disastrous and record-setting year for wildfires. Meteorologists anticipate 9.5 million acres will be burned in wildfires across the U.S. this season, almost 2 million acres more than the 5-year average.
According to California’s top emergency and fire officials, the upcoming fire season could quickly become the worst on record. The new concerns come as California endured its worst fire season, with more than four million acres burned and six of the most destructive events in the state’s history. The Washington Post examines how California’s wildfire season is expanding as the wet season becomes compressed. CAL FIRE held a press conference on May 5 for Wildfire Preparedness Week.
Scientists and fire officials continue to urge Colorado homeowners in wildfire-prone areas to begin mitigating their properties to prevent fire from spreading and reaching their homes.
Winter Storm
Louisiana homeowners and renters who sustained property damage or loss caused by the severe winter storms in February have two weeks left to register and apply for federal disaster assistance.