To Fix Harvey-Related Housing Damage, Houston Needs $2 Billion More In Federal Funds
An estimated 130,000 Houstonians affected by Hurricane Harvey were overlooked in the city's original housing needs assessment, according to the
To fix the previously neglected damage, the city needs an extra
The
There's another
The agency is trying to get an accurate accounting of unmet needs in areas damaged by Harvey's flooding, McCasland said. "The way they have counted for years now puts us in a position of undercounting the true need," he said.
Data scientists and flood engineers worked with the city on an eight-month study to create the report, marking a new strategy for disaster relief assessment. Previous assessments relied on approved
By studying socioeconomic data and the demographic makeup of households in conjunction with flood maps, meteorological data and hydraulic modeling, the researchers have attempted to "understand who was impacted, not just which buildings," the report said.
Although the first task is determining the storm's overall cost, McCasland said the city wants "to ensure that this recovery's success is graded upon how well we're getting the funding through to the most vulnerable populations."
And there's a lot left to do: A dozen low-income neighborhoods saw home damage that totaled more than half the residents' incomes, according to the report, which found that just over a fifth of the federal aid earmarked for
Using the data the researchers collected, the city plans to reach out to residents in low-income neighborhoods as the release date for the additional HUD funding approaches. Without sufficient outreach efforts, McCasland said, the most vulnerable populations often "get to being served right about the time the money runs out."
Thirty percent of
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