Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) recently announced it will receive $25.6 million in federal funding to begin buyouts of homes identified to have a significant flood risk.

The allocation was part of the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) in response to a grant application from HCFCD. The original grant application requested funding to purchase about 1,000 flood-damaged homes, totaling $163.5 million. Additional funding allocations from the same grant application are expected later this year.

Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has been working with its many local, state, and federal partners to address the flood risk reduction needs of the county. This includes responding to and addressing volunteers for the Flood Control District Home Buyout Program by maintaining a Home Buyout Hotline, collecting information from thousands of home buyout volunteers, reviewing and identifying properties that meet the Flood Control District Home Buyout eligibility criteria, and submitting grant applications for funding to support home buyouts in response to Hurricane Harvey.

Home buyouts are used by the Flood Control District to reduce flood damages in areas deep in the floodplain, where structural projects to reduce flooding are not cost effective or beneficial. Since the Flood Control District’s voluntary buyout program began in 1985, more than 2,075 structures have been purchased with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and more than 960 properties (with and without structures) have been purchased with local Flood Control District funds.

For more information about how to participate in a potential home buyout, please contact the Flood Control District at 713-684-4020 or visit www.hcfcd.org/homebuyout.