Hurricane Harvey Relief Funds Withheld Pending Documentation From the State of Texas

TEXAS—January 12, 2022—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it will not distribute $1.95 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funding to the State of Texas, according to CBS DFW. The funds were designated for flood mitigation projects following Harvey, which struck Texas and Louisiana in August 2017 as a category 4 storm. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) stated that the Harvey relief funds will be withheld pending required documentation from the Texas General Land Office explaining how the money will be spent.

Harvey brought high winds and catastrophic flooding that damaged 185,000 homes and destroyed 9000, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Hurricane Harvey tied Hurricane Katrina as the costliest hurricane on record. The slow-moving storm dumped more than 40 inches of rain across much of the Houston area, with Nederland, Texas receiving more than 60 inches. Harvey is also the wettest tropical storm on record, and the flooding displaced more than 30,000 Texans, according to CBS DFW.

The State of Texas has 45 days to submit the paperwork, which must detail its plans to use the Hurricane Harvey relief funds to help communities at risk of natural disasters and climate change. CBS DFW reports that Texas Land Commissioner Spokesperson Brittany Eck told the Houston Chronicle her office did submit a 628-page document to HUD that should satisfy the department’s documentation requirement.