FEMA
An audit by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General found that FEMA did not collect information necessary for the accurate review of erroneous distributions of assistance. The audit also found that from 2015 to 2019, only 1% of funds were recouped by the agency – well below a legislatively enforced cap of 4%.
FEMA is facing increasing pressure to take action to prepare for wildfires, flooding, and the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
FEMA announced that it had made its first selections in this year’s round of Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant programs, awarding a total of $91.2 million in grants to recipients. The agency also announced that it had selected 20 diverse communities to receive additional non-financial and technical assistance to build resilience.
Biden Administration
President Biden met with leaders of a federal emergency preparedness and response team on May 18 for an annual briefing on the Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook. The team includes the heads of FEMA, HUD, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Hurricane Center, as well as the administration’s Homeland Security advisor.
Alaska
Approximately 50 residents of the Alaskan town of Manley Hot Springs remain displaced after an ice jam flooded their homes. Residents remain frustrated by the lack of guidance, as damage assessments for damage from this spring’s flood season continue. Assessments must be collected before the state requests a disaster declaration from FEMA.
Florida
The Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference took place in Palm Beach County. Discussions focused on how better to coordinate local, state, and federal resources and on the impacts of inflation and monetary concerns on disaster recovery in the state.
Louisiana
The deadline to apply for the Lake Charles Housing Rehabilitation Recovery Program was May 27. Program administrators state that their goal is to rehabilitate 130 homes in Lake Charles. Currently, administrators have received more than 1,600 applications for assistance.
Nearly 8 months after Hurricane Ida devastated their communities, nearly 1,000 identified residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes have yet to receive emergency trailers for housing. Officials have pointed to a wide range of obstacles but admit that progress has been far too slow.
Michigan
Federal officials toured Gaylord to inspect damage to the town following an EF3 tornado in early May. Federal officials are collecting information on the impact of the storm, which killed two individuals and injured 44.
New Mexico
Between 10,000 and 18,000 people have been displaced by the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico. Although some residents have begun to return, at least 366 structures have been destroyed by the fire – a number that is sure to increase. As a result, FEMA has approved assistance for individuals and households in five of the most impacted counties.
North Carolina
One couple in Dudley that was lucky to survive Hurricane Matthew three years ago has spent the last 15 months residing in an extended stay motel paid for by North Carolina’s recovery program, due to the slow pace of home construction.
Ohio
A recent article recounts how residents in Dayton are looking back on three years spent recovering from catastrophic tornados.
Texas
Texas’s Government Land Office is pushing ahead with a plan to steer disaster mitigation funds to whiter, inland counties that are at lower risk of natural disasters, despite admonishment by HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). FHEO found the state’s plan to distribute Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds was discriminatory because it prevented Houston and other coastal areas with large non-white populations from receiving funds to prevent future disaster damage.
The Houston Chronicle’s Editorial Board objected to the decision of Government Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush to push ahead with distribution plans for mitigation funding found by HUD’s FHEO to be discriminatory.
Resources and Reporting
The Washington Post published an article detailing the rapidly increasing wildfire risks around the country. The article finds that by 2052, nearly half of those Americans exposed to wildfire risk will live in southern states.
An op-ed in Fortune magazine by Enterprise Community Partners CEO Priscilla Almodovar calls for the passage of the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act,” which would permanently authorize HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and shorten the time necessary for disaster survivors to receive long-term assistance. Passage of the bill is a major priority for the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition.