The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated nearly $3 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to help communities recover from disasters and build inclusive resilience to climate change.
HUD said these allocations underscore its commitment to equitably improving the nation’s disaster recovery and building long-term, inclusive resilience to the impacts of climate change, particularly for historically marginalized communities.
“These disaster recovery funds will strengthen recovery efforts and improve long-term, inclusive resilience to future disasters and climate impacts,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a release. “Communities will have greater resources and focus to ensure equitable outcomes for underserved households that too often bear the brunt of climate-related disasters. With these funds, we are sending a strong message that equity and forward-looking mitigation are priorities of HUD and this administration’s disaster recovery work.”
HUD is providing $2.214 billion to 10 local governments and 13 state governments for 16 major disasters in 2021. HUD is also allocating an additional $722.7 million to five of the previously announced 2020 disaster recovery grants to reflect the higher level of need than previously calculated for disasters in those states.
These funds will go to recover from and build resilience to natural disasters, including climate disasters, with a specific focus on low- and moderate-income populations. The funds are specified to be used for: “disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation, in the most impacted and distressed areas.”
HUD has now allocated the remaining funds of the $5 billion appropriated the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act for CDBG-DR funds.
In November 2021, HUD allocated more than $2 billion in CDBG-DR for 2020 disasters. In January 2022, HUD opened access to those more than $2 billion, issuing a notice requiring all grantees to incorporate disaster mitigation measures into all recovery activities involving construction and to advance equitable distribution of the disaster recovery assistance. HUD’s notice underscored the agency’s commitment to ensuring that equity and forward-looking mitigation are prioritized in recovery activities.
President Joe Biden previously issued an executive order requiring HUD to allocate resources in a manner that equitably invests in underserved communities, especially communities of color.