FEMA Announces Accelerated Buyout Program For Flooded Texas Communities
Release Date: July 19, 2001
Release Number: 1379-66
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Washington, DC -- Under an accelerated buyout program, Friendswood, Texas, will receive $19.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to acquire and remove 200 homes flooded six weeks ago by Tropical Storm Allison, FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh said today.
"FEMA's goal is to help reduce the potential of future flood damage and the human suffering that accompanies every disaster," FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh said. "Helping people move out of harm's way is an important way to help a community reduce losses from future disasters."
Buyouts, also called acquisition and relocation projects, allow residents to move permanently out of harm's way. These are voluntary, and homeowners receive the fair market value of the homes before the disaster struck. Under the agreement, the structures are removed and the city maintains the land as open space. In Friendswood, 182 of the 200 targeted properties were substantially damaged in the Tropical Storm Allison flooding, and 122 of the properties had been flooded in the past.
"A lot of good work has been done by officials in the Harris County Flood Control District and Texas emergency managers to fast track this program and get resolution to residents as quickly as possible," Allbaugh said. "The recent realignment within FEMA has also allowed us to hasten the process, which usually takes six to eight months."
State and local governments work together to identify areas where buyouts make the most sense, and then apply to FEMA for the funds. Homeowners cannot apply to FEMA for a buyout. The hazard mitigation grants are administered by the Texas Office of Emergency Management and local officials.
FEMA and the state are responding to mitigation requests in Harris, Jefferson, Montgomery, Galveston and Brazoria counties, which were all affected by Tropical Storm Allison.
The acquisition project is funded through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which helps states and local governments implement long-term hazard mitigation measures. HMGP funds are made available to a state following a major disaster declaration; the amount available for risk reduction projects is based on the overall federal disaster funds spent. FEMA funds 75 percent of the cost of the mitigation, with the state or local governments paying the remainder.
"More than 20,000 properties have been purchased nationally as part of the HMGP acquisition program since 1993," Allbaugh said. "In many of these cases, the land left behind has been flooded again. Without a buyout, those homes and families would have suffered once more. Without a doubt, this program saves property and heartache."
Last Modified: Friday, 17-Oct-2003 15:43:04