City of Houston PostHarvey

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

Our Requests

Direct Allocation of CDBG-DR Funds

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has designated $5 billion in CDBG-DR funds specifically for mitigation from the third supplemental appropriations bill to go to Texas. The City of Houston has major mitigation projects ready to go that will save lives and protect property when the next storm hits – but we need to get working on these projects as soon as possible. HUD can speed up this process by a direct allocation of at least $1.2 billion to the City of Houston. The City of Houston is ready to received these funds, and there is precedent for this decision. Read More »

Volunteer Match Program

As you know, Texans’ willingness to step up and help a neighbor was a recurring story through the devastating floods of Hurricane Harvey last August. Houstonians were outstanding examples of volunteerism, from manning rescue boats to working in shelters and helping to clean out flooded homes. Volunteer hours logged in response to the storm would typically be accepted as local match for FEMA Categories A and B (debris removal and emergency protective measures). The City of Houston is proposing that it be allowed to continue tracking Harvey-related volunteer hours as match against categories C-G. Read More »

Quick Facts

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.

Newsroom chevron_right

A Year After Hurricane Harvey, Houston’s poorest neighborhoods are slowest to recover

Houston and other Texas cities hit hard by Harvey a year ago have made significant progress recuperating from the worst rainstorm in United States history. The piles of debris — nearly 13 million cubic yards of it — are long gone, and many residents are back in their refurbished homes. Billions of dollars in federal aid and donations have helped Texans repair, rebuild and recover. But this is not uniformly the case, and the exceptions trace a disturbing path of income and race across a state where those dividing lines are often easy to see.

The New York Times • 9/3/18

Houston Mayor and City Councilman meet with Harvey affected residents to discuss recovery

In an effort to discuss recovery and resilience with residents, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Councilman Greg Travis are touring a west Houston neighborhood that was impacted by Hurricane Harvey. This is Mayor Turner's second weekend visiting Houstonians to hear their Harvey recovery experiences.

ABC 13 • 9/1/18

FEMA to count volunteer work toward local match on Harvey projects

Federal officials have agreed to count volunteer work hours and donated materials toward the local match required for disaster recovery grants to repair streets, buildings, utilities, parks and other public facilities — a national policy change, initiated in Houston, that could save local governments tens of millions of dollars.

Houston Chronicle • 8/17/18

Texas to get nearly $5B in flood-mitigation funding

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced July 5 how it will allocate billions of dollars for more flood-mitigation efforts. Of the allocations announced July 5, the largest portion is more than $13.9 billion for the construction of nearly 60 projects to reduce damage from floods and storms across multiple states and Puerto Rico. Texas projects account for nearly $4.88 billion.

Houston Business Journal • 7/6/18

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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.

PBS Newshour

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.

KPRC

Supporting Documents

descriptionLetter from Mayor on Lake Houston9/12/18 descriptionMayor/County Judge Joint Letter to HUD8/6/18 descriptionHazard Mitigation Grant Update7/30/18 descriptionPresentation on Draft Local Action Plan6/25/18 descriptionHousing Local Action Plan Summary6/7/18 descriptionHousing Local Action Plan6/7/18 descriptionLong-Term Housing Recovery FAQs6/4/18 descriptionPresentation to Council BFA Committee on Recovery5/29/18 descriptionLetter from Mayor on Coastal Spine Bill5/24/18 descriptionUpdated Presentation on Hazard Mitigation Grants5/21/18 descriptionPresentation on 2015 CDBG-DR Dollars5/17/18 descriptionLetter to Governor from Mayors and County Judges on HMGP5/15/18 descriptionHouston Delegation Letter on CDBG-DR Funds4/11/18 descriptionMayor Turner Testimony to Homeland Security Committee4/9/18 descriptionCity to GLO on Allocation Agreements3/27/18 descriptionChapter 19 Floodplain Data Analysis3/16/18 descriptionLetter from Congressional Delegation Supporting Volunteer Match3/14/18 descriptionLetter from Judge Emmett to Commissioner Bush re: Recovery Plan3/13/18 descriptionLetter from Mayor Turner to Commissioner Bush re: Recovery Plan3/8/18 descriptionMemo on Requirement of GLO to Consult Local Governments3/8/18 descriptionMcCasland Letter to GLO Director re: Recovery Action Plan3/2/18 descriptionPresentation to City Council2/14/18 descriptionUpdate on Housing Damage2/9/18 descriptionBreakdown of Congressional Deal2/9/18 descriptionNotice of Funding Availability for CDBG-DR Funds2/9/18 descriptionH.R 1892, Bipartisan Budget Act2/9/18 descriptionSenate Appropriations Summary2/6/18 descriptionHurricane Harvey: Fiscal Analyses and Resources1/30/18 descriptionMayor's Request to HUD on Technical Assistance1/28/18 descriptionPresentation to House General Investigations and Ethics Committee1/18/18 descriptionTurner/Emmett Letter on Case Management1/17/18 picture_as_pdfMayor Turner to Governor on Kingwood12/14/17 picture_as_pdfEFF & KFF Harvey Survey12/01/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Governor Abbott12/17/17 picture_as_pdfMarvin Odom Letter to Alex Amparo11/30/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Administrator Brock Long and Secretary Ben Carson11/28/17 picture_as_pdfKinder Institute: Harvey Relief and Recovery Funding Primer11/27/17 descriptionCity of Houston Priorities for Federal Harvey Disaster Funding11/15/17 picture_as_pdfMemo: Hurricane Harvey Impact on Housing Units11/09/17 descriptionRebuild Texas Request for Federal Assistance10/31/17 descriptionBreakdown of Federal Funds Appropriated10/30/17 picture_as_pdfCDBG DR2015 Project Status Update10/24/17 descriptionMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Appropriations Committee Requesting Rainy Day Funds10/02/17 descriptionSolid Waste Disposal Fees Account No. 5000 Facts09/28/17 descriptionState Cost Sharing Comparison09/26/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Governor Abbott Requesting Rainy Day Funds09/25/17 picture_as_pdfCornyn Delegation Letter to Secretary Carson Requesting Allocation of CDBG-DR Funds09/21/17 descriptionMayor Sylvester Turner Letter Naming Marvin Odum Chief Recovery Officer09/15/17 picture_as_pdfHCDD Disaster Recovery Federal/State Fund Allocation Overview09/13/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Governor Abbott Seeking CDBG-DR Funds09/06/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Governor Abbott Detailing Harvey Relief Priorities and Requests09/04/17 picture_as_pdfMayor Sylvester Turner Letter to Administrator Long Requesting FEMA Assistance09/01/17