The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making more than $1.3 billion in funding available to Florida, which the agency said will immediately help Floridians recover from Hurricane Michael and assist the investment in large-scale disaster mitigation projects.
“The great people of Florida and the state leadership continue to show their resilience as they persevere through the recovery process of rebuilding their homes, restoring their businesses, and repairing their critical infrastructure,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. “I hope the disaster relief funds being announced today bring a little peace of mind to the people of Florida, aid in their recovery, and assist in the protection against future damage.”
The funding is through two separate programs. Through the CDBG-MIT program, $633 million will be provided to the state of Florida to allow the state to undertake strategic, high-impact projects to mitigate disaster risks and better protect against future losses. HUD said $735 million will be available for the state to address unmet housing and infrastructure needs resulting from the impacts of Hurricane Michael on the Florida Panhandle through CDBG-MIT funding. CDBG-DR grants support a variety of disaster recovery activities including housing redevelopment and rebuilding, business assistance, economic revitalization, and infrastructure repair. Grantees are required to spend the majority of these recovery funds in “most impacted” areas as identified by HUD.
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