The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $6.2 million to the City of Houston for the repair and replacement of several city vehicles, fire department vehicles and equipment following Hurricane Harvey.
Floodwaters that inundated the roads in Houston destroyed 226 city vehicles including cargo vans, dump trucks, sedans and utility vehicles. The flooding also destroyed 16 Houston Fire Department vehicles including brush trucks and water tanks. Destroyed equipment included weed sprayers, air compressors, mowers, winches, emergency lights, hoses and nozzles, chainsaws, power cables and bolt cutters.
The total cost of the repairs was more than $6.2 million and required a $692,094 nonfederal cost share.
The grant comes from FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program, which reimburses eligible applicants for actions taken in the immediate response to and during recovery from a disaster. These eligible applicants include states, federally recognized tribal governments, U.S. territories, local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations.
FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program provides project funding directly to the state for disbursement to applicants. The grant to the county will be disbursed through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).
For additional information on Hurricane Harvey and Texas recovery, visit the Hurricane Harvey disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4332, Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMAharvey, the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at www.twitter.com/FEMARegion6 or the Texas Division of Emergency Management website at https://www.dps.texas.gov/dem/.