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.
Federal News
A review of CDBG-DR funds by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified four categories of fraud risk facing the long-term recovery funds. Although the report opened with an example of a fraudulent application, the report found that fraud risks at the grantee, subgrantee, and contractor level were also high. The report recommended permanent authorization of the program as a solution, something supported by the DHRC.
California
California recently released a set of proposed rules for the allocation of federal disaster housing credits. A public hearing is planned for later this month. Written comments on the proposed rules are due by May 31.
Louisiana
President Biden visited the hard-hit city of Lake Charles in Southwest Louisiana last week to tout the American Jobs Plan in front of the aging I-10 Calcasieu River bridge. Residents of the city, struck by several hurricanes in 2020 and with more than $230 million in housing needs, hoped that the President would choose to directly address disaster recovery, and the President did commit to pushing for recovery assistance in his speech.
FEMA reminded Louisiana residents that its temporary housing program is not a permanent solution and that survivors should create a plan to find permanent housing or be evicted once the program ends after 18 months. Given the loss of housing stock in the area, it appears difficult to accomplish. Out of the 1,900 families provided temporary housing directly by the agency since Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020, only 100 families have been able to move out of these temporary housing units. Six hundred families remain on the list of eligible applicants to receive accommodations.
Southerly reports on new United States Postal Service and Census Bureau data showing that Lake Charles, LA tops the list for out-migration between 2019 and 2020. The author highlights that national coverage of this data ignored the critical impact of the back-to-back hurricanes and the severe winter storm that devastated Lake Charles. “This neglect – and misinterpretation – is the culmination of eight months of underinvestment and underreporting on this crisis in southwest Louisiana,” writes Carly Berlin.
A Weather.com article discussing how some hurricane supplies, such as lumber and generators, are in short supply, highlights the continued struggles of many Lake Charles residents who are unable to even think about preparing for the upcoming hurricane season. “Prepping? We’re still recovering from the last hurricane,” said an employee of a hardware store in Lake Charles. “People aren’t really prepping. They’re still trying to rebuild.”
Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
Kentucky residents displaced from their homes by the severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from February 27 through March 14 may apply for FEMA rental assistance.
President Biden approved a disaster declaration for Tennessee, which was struck by multiple tornadoes and severe weather earlier this month. The declaration included FEMA Individual Assistance, allowing individuals in Davidson, Williamson, and Wilson counties to apply for assistance.
Tropical Storm Imelda – September 2019
Lone Star Legal Aid reports that Tropical Storm Imelda survivors may be eligible for aid through the 2018/2019 Homeowner Assistance and Reimbursement Programs (HARP). In September 2019, the Texas Gulf Coast was hit by Tropical Storm Imelda – deemed the worst storm in Texas since Hurricane Harvey. Imelda hit hardest in Galveston and Beaumont and left $5 billion of damages scattered through the state in its wake. While some Texans have recuperated from the casualties, many people still require assistance for damages resulting from this storm. Learn more about the HARP program.
Wildfires
The Intercept examines how the Chico City Council’s treatment of unhoused individuals, which has been condemned recently by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, demonstrates how the lowest-income and most marginalized people are often most impacted by climate change-fueled disasters and are treated poorly by people whose resources protected them – at least in the short-term – by said disasters. According to the Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care, about a quarter of the city’s unsheltered residents lost their homes in the 2018 Camp Fire that burned the neighboring town of Paradise.
Winter Storm
Texas residents impacted by the February severe winter storms have until May 20 to register for federal disaster assistance.
Resources
FEMA Recovery Checklist for the Oklahoma Severe Winter Storms