Hurricane season is about to peak in Texas and the state’s disaster fund is already running low.
Governor Greg Abbott’s office has committed nearly all of the state’s 2016-17 disaster relief fund and Texas is just days away from the heart of hurricane season.
Severe floods and other extreme weather drained the state’s emergency fund, which is used to assist recovery efforts after a natural disaster.
“We have had a tremendous amount of flooding that has hit since May of 2015, we are on our sixth presidential disaster declaration since then,” said, Michael Segner, the State Coordinator of the National Flood Insurance Program at the Texas Water Development Board.
According to the governor’s office, those six disasters impacted nearly 60 percent of the counties in the state and more than 19 million Texans.
“It’s been historic flooding in the past 16 months or so, but the amount of grant funding has not been abnormal,” Segner said.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWBD) administers grant money on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state.
As far as FEMA funding goes, the amount is on course with previous years while community grant applications to the state more than quadrupled.
Last week, Segner’s team at the TWBD awarded $3.5 million in flood protection grants for 17 projects around the state.
The grants from the state’s Disaster Contingency Fund will be used to finance early warning systems, flood response strategies and flood protection planning.
Segner called the $3.5 million an “abnormal” amount, TWBD has distributed about $900,000 annually over the last four or five years, according to Segner.
Governor Abbott authorized the transfer of $6.8 million from the Disaster Contingency Fund to TWBD in December of 2015 to be used for flood protection.
The issue of the drained disaster relief fund surfaced in a letter sent from the governor’s office to officials in Harris County, an area that experienced major flooding.
The letter, dated June 30, informed Harris County lawmakers that the governor denied their request for grant money after major flooding in the county.
Gov. Abbott’s staff blamed representatives from both the state House and Senate who allocated nearly $50 million less in general revenue than Abbott asked for ahead of 2015 session.
“In the end, the Disaster Fund was appropriated $48.5 million less than the Governor’s Office requested,” Deputy Chief of Staff Robert Allen wrote in the letter.
“Unfortunately, the funds remaining in the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program may not be sufficient for additional emergency operations that may be necessary to respond to future disasters during the remainder of the current biennium,” Allen wrote. “Even under the most optimistic of FEMA reimbursement scenarios, the fund balance is a fraction of what would be needed for critical emergency response efforts for a minor hurricane or significant flood event.”
Hurricane season spans from June 1 to Nov. 30 the threat of hurricanes and tropical storms peaks in September for Texas.
Hurricane Ike rocked the Gulf Coast in September of 2008, damages in Texas alone totaled $29.5 billion.
“The Governor has visited with the Speaker and Lt. Governor about the Disaster Fund situation and will work with leadership to ensure the State has the necessary resources in the Fund to be prepared for any disaster that may come our way,” said John Wittman, spokesperson for the governor’s office.
Wittman added the governor’s office works closely with local governments to ensure bills are accurate and municipalities are reimbursed.
It’s important to note that the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program mention in the letter is separate from the Disaster Contingency Fund, the fund that provided additional money to TWDB.
The Texas Water Development Board works with more than 1,200 communities in Texas to help people prepare before a disaster and rebuild after one hits.
Segner said the goal is to make Texans safer and mitigate damages, which will hopefully reduce future costs associated with a disaster.