Published Sep 16, 2020 by Steven Will
Three years on and Texas is still working to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Harris County and the Texas General Land office host regular calls and issue ongoing reports to lay out the status of recovery and mitigation projects.
As of early September, 50 housing assistance projects are still under review within Harris County, awaiting a potential $8.7 million in disbursements. As recently as the week of August 14, 2020, 18 checks were sent to homeowners in Harris County for Harvey damages. The General Land Office is now taking applications for $5 billion in flood mitigation project grants from federal funds issued after Harvey. A second round of applications will be due in 2021, nearly four years after the storm.
The pace of progress on these projects is often frustrating, but understandable considering the government process. The multiple governmental layers [local, state and federal] and jurisdictions require studies, public hearings and comment periods to ensure opportunities for citizens to weigh in, application processes and reviews, rules to ensure program equity, oversight to ensure tax dollars are spent wisely, and more. All of that is in addition to the engineering studies and construction of the project, which can itself take years. Harris County is working with FEMA to develop new flood maps for the region by 2023, which could provide improved insights for flood mitigation projects.
The Partnership worked hard with officials at every level of government to help secure flood recovery and mitigation assistance. Although Hurricane Harvey may be three years past, flooding remains a long-term threat to the quality of life and economic vitality of the Houston region. The Houston region must stay focused on the addressing the issues that Hurricane Harvey exposed three years ago.
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