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

At Harvey town hall, Turner pushes to ‘streamline’ future recovery process

Mayor Sylvester Turner acknowledged at a town hall meeting Thursday the slow pace of Houston’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey, calling for major reforms in the way federal aid reaches local governments hit by future storms. “The money is coming, but it’s coming through slowly,” Turner said. “One of the things that we all need to work on, on the federal, state and local level — because the storms are going to come ...

Houston Chronicle • 8/28/19

The federal government’s hurricane relief response needs an overhaul

In late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Houston area with 1 trillion gallons of rain, enough to run Niagara Falls for 15 days. No other big American city has withstood such a natural disaster in modern times. By and large, the nation’s fourth most populous city has bounced back from the devastation. But it wasn’t until this month that FEMA awarded the first set of grants for the design and construction of ...

Trib Talk • 8/27/19

Houstonians Urged To Participate In State Flood Planning Process

Texas water officials were in Houston as part of a statewide series of flooding town hall meetings to plan for future storms. The Texas Water Development Board held workshops across the state in August to get public comment on what they’re calling the first-ever statewide flood plan. In January, the agency presented a State Flood Assessment report to the legislature, calling for accurate floodplain maps ...

Houston Public Media • 8/26/19

Two years after Harvey, a more resilient Houston

Two years ago this week, Hurricane Harvey brought death, destruction and displacement to Houston. Despite Harvey, or because of it, Houston’s commitment to recovery and resiliency is stronger than ever. One storm will not defeat this city or its people. Many residents are rebuilding their homes — but also building them to protect against future storms. As Mayor Turner states, our diversity is what makes Houston uniquely great, and our dedication to ensure all Houstonians ...

Houston Chronicle • 8/23/19

Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness

The House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on the Environment held a hearing to assess climate change impacts and natural disaster preparedness efforts. Among the witnesses testifying on the first panel included former FEMA director James Witt and atmospheric science professors. The second panel comprised emergency management officials from Texas, California, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

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

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.

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