City of Houston Harvey Relief

Dear Houstonians,

Hurricane Harvey inundated America’s 4th largest city with over 50 inches of rain and impacted more than 300,000 housing units in Houston alone. More homes flooded in Houston during Hurricane Harvey than in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina or New York City during Hurricane Sandy. This is the third year in a row that Houston has experienced severe flooding resulting in a Presidentially declared disaster.

By itself, Harvey represents the largest housing disaster in American history, and we cannot effectively recover without federal support. This website outlines our requests of the federal government for members of the Administration, Congress and their staff, the media and the public.

Houston has come to the aid of other Gulf Coast communities in their time of need and represents an essential hub for American energy, medical treatment, shipping, aerospace, and trade. Working with our Congressional delegation, we need the federal government to come to our aide to help build a more resilient city that has learned the lessons of Harvey. Without flood mitigation, rebuilding dollars are just funding for future failure.

I invite you to read through this site and contact my Office of Government Relations with any questions.

Sincerely,

Sylvester Turner
Mayor

Louisiana received over $14 billion for flood control projects following Hurricane Katrina.

Congress appropriated over $5 billion for Corps of Engineers projects in areas affected by Superstorm Sandy.

Hurricane Harvey inundated America’s 4th largest city with over 50 inches of rain and flooded more than 300,000 housing units in Houston alone.

More homes flooded in Houston during Hurricane Harvey than in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina or New York City during Superstorm Sandy.

Abbott joins Texas lawmakers urging Trump not to take Harvey funds for border wall

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joined a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers Tuesday urging President Donald Trump not to use recovery money for Hurricane Harvey to end the partial government shutdown over a border wall. In a letter signed by both Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, the lawmakers expressed unanimous support for border security, ...

Houston Chronicle • 1/15/19

Moldy ceilings, plywood floors and leaky plumbing: Residents impacted by Harvey crowd opening of Houston’s recovery center

It’s been 506 days since Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, and Ruby Singleton’s ceiling still has mold. Annie Green’s windows are cracked, the wood in her walls are rotten and her roof still leaks. Alberta Fleming has been living out of her tan Grand Cherokee.

Houston Chronicle • 1/14/19

Vulnerable Houstonians first in line for Harvey recovery money, city says

Houston housing officials say low-income and flood-prone residents will be the first priority of various housing assistance programs approved Wednesday. Tom McCasland, director of the city's Housing and Community Development, said he hopes targeting such communities will ease some of the frustration among those that have waited more than a year for ...

Houston Chronicle • 1/9/19

Shutdown To Delay Harvey Recovery Work, Flood Mitigation

Harris County is likely to freeze some projects it’s paying for jointly with the federal government, rather than carry on alone and risk not getting reimbursed ... Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wants to make it easier for the public to get details about Harvey recovery and flood mitigation, but the federal government shutdown is prompting the county to put some of that work on hold.

Houston Public Media • 1/8/19

Can Houston prevent disaster when the next storm comes?

Houston, known as the Bayou City, is no stranger to flooding. But the record-breaking rains and devastating deluge of Hurricane Harvey helped expose a disconnect between developers building on flood-vulnerable land and home buyers who might not have realized the risk.

Making Houston Stronger: A Town Hall

KPRC2 brought you an in-depth discussion with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett about the lessons we've learned and what's being done to protect the Houston area from another flood catastrophe.

City of Houston PostHarvey

Post-Harvey Unmet Need in Houston

Quick Facts