Harris County, Rockport get nearly $42 million for disaster recovery

​​​​AUSTIN – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $35.4 million in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to Harris County.

The county will use the funds to buy up to 160 repeatedly flooded homes and assist families in moving out of high flood-risk areas.

According to the National Flood Insurance Program, Harris County had the highest number of properties—over 3,000—that flooded during Hurricane Harvey and have flooded at least once before.

Rockport was also awarded $6.5 million in CDBG-DR funds to help replace damaged and destroyed apartment complexes. Five million dollars will pay for the reconstruction of 50 units in Salt Grass Apartments. The remaining funds will rehabilitate 48 units in the Oak Harbor Apartments. 

The two awards come from $57.8 million in CDBG-DR funds designated for previous events and held back in 2017. 

Dr. Robert Gilmer, director with the University of Houston Bauer Institute for Regional Forecasting, writes about Houston’s stormy history in a Tierra Grande article called “H-Town: Houston and Hurricanes." ​​