ABBOTT: MILLIONS OF $$$ AVAILABLE FOR HURRICANE DAMAGE

  

Governor Greg Abbott has sent a letter to the Mayors, County Judges and Emergency Management officials in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey, urging them to take immediate advantage of the $500 million in funds from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

According to Abbott, the funds are available immediately.

Abbott says they can provide immediate relief and resiliency to the community.

So far, the Texas Department of Emergency Management has received only seven complete applications from the entire region impacted by Hurricane Harvey, which means hundreds of millions of dollars that are available to Texas communities.

Included in the letter, the Governor reminds officials that local governments will not be obligated to pay the typical 25 percent local cost share for hazard mitigation grants. Instead

Hazard mitigation funds can be used in a number of ways, including: buyouts and elevations of flood prone properties; drainage and reservoir projects that eliminate future flooding; projects to lessen the frequency or severity of flooding; flood risk reduction projects (dams, retention basins, levees, floodwalls); large-scale channeling of waterways; and other projects.