North Carolina's Carteret County Gets $1.79 Million Grant
Release Date: February 15, 2006
Release Number: R4-06-006
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency is awarding North Carolina 's Carteret County a $1,339,580 grant to elevate 19 homes and reduce the risk of loss due to flooding.
The grant money, which covers 75 percent of the $1 ,786,107 project cost, will be used to raise the homes above the base floor elevation level. The homes have been subjected to repetitive damage from flooding. Most of the homes are older, and standard forms of mitigation removal of the houses and relocation of the families would change the makeup of the small communities.
About 700 homes in the Carteret County area were damaged by Hurricane Isabel, which struck the East Coast on Sept. 18, 2003.
Local county officials determined that the elevation of the properties is the best solution to maintain the integrity of these communities, said Mary Lynne Miller, Acting Region IV Director. "This money will go a long way toward reducing the damage from perennial flooding while keeping the character of our communities intact."
The grant is part of FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which assists states and local communities in implementing long-term hazard mitigation measures following a major disaster declaration. Among its goals, the HMGP aims to prevent future loss of lives and property from disasters, implement state or local hazard mitigation plans and provide funding for previously identified mitigation measures that benefit the disaster area.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 08-Aug-2006 15:48:44