To The Leader

AUSTIN, Texas – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $1 billion to Texas cities, counties and certain nonprofits affected by Hurricane Harvey.

The Public Assistance grant program has reimbursed eligible applicants for more than 2,100 projects since Hurricane Harvey made landfall last year. A recent grant of more than $45 million to the Humble Independent School District pushed the obligations over the $1 billion mark.

The grant to Humble ISD paid for mold remediation, contaminated water removal and repairs to the Kingwood High School campus. The main building of the high school took in more than 5 feet of water while the gymnasium and auditorium withstood up to 8 feet of water. Water damaged the first and second floors of the main building and the third and fourth floors received damage due to the high humidity created by the floodwater.

FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program provides grants to eligible applicants including states, federally recognized tribal governments, U.S. territories, local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations. The program provides project funding directly to the state for disbursement to the applicants.

These grants reimburse the applicants for projects such as emergency sheltering for survivors, emergency command centers, replacement of damaged emergency vehicles, debris removal, utility repair, emergency protective measures to prevent injury and damage to property and injury during an incident, and sheltering programs, such as the Partial Repair and Essential Power for Sheltering.