Government
BY MELISSA ENAJE, RACHEL LELAND & JESSICA SHORTEN
County ocials urge disaster preparedness amid FEMA concerns
Diving in deeper
FEMA funding also provides individual assistance directly to residents a ected by local disasters. Individual assistance can vary from lump sum payments to hotel accommodations for families a ected by a disaster. Following the derecho event and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, the Houston region received two presidential disaster declarations. According to funding allocation reports from FEMA, 739,519 applications for individual assistance for home- owners were approved from the two events, totaling nearly $1.2 billion in assistance passed on to residents in 2024 alone. Individual assistance requests from Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Imelda, Hurricane Beryl and the Houston derecho, and the 2024 severe storms totaled $2.9 billion, according to FEMA.
Abbott was appointed to the special review council in May alongside Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Department of Emergency Management. Abbott said the state has historically led disaster response following disasters. The biggest concern voiced by local agencies is natural disasters typically cause several million in debris removal and hazard mitigation costs typically reimbursed by FEMA. “The county relies heavily on FEMA funding, especially for large-scale projects like debris removal. Without that support, the nancial burden could hinder our ability to respond to and recover from a disaster,” said Brooke Boyett, Harris County administration’s communications director.
Following the announcement of a new committee May 20 aimed at addressing the reliability and existence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Houston- area agencies remain uncertain on how the federal FEMA Review Council will aect disaster response in the region. In a July 14 press conference, Gov. Greg Abbott said the main goal of the committee is to streamline processes to provide faster emergency response. “The monetary resources that we are receiving now, they’re much needed for things like … debris removal or search and rescue operations,” Abbott said. “Those will still be funded, but we will have the ability to do it a whole lot faster.”
FEMA individual assistance funding for Houston region
Housing assistance funding Other assistance funding Hurricane Harvey
Immediately following a disaster, local counties seek FEMA funding for public assistance and debris removal. Regional major storm debris removal costs
Galveston County Harris County Montgomery County
$1.2B
Hurricane Harvey
April/May 2024 severe storms
Hurricane Beryl
SOURCE: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT $413M Tropical Storm Imelda $57M $11M 2024 derecho/tornado/severe storm $143M $164M Hurricane Beryl $191M $724M
$40M
$30M
$20M
$10M
$0
SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY BUDGET OFFICE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY BUDGET OFFICE, GALVESTON COUNTY BUDGET OFFICECOMMUNITY IMPACT
Final takeaways
expertise after major disasters.” The federal review council has met twice in 2025 to discuss how FEMA currently operates, and there is no deadline on when the nal report will be issued. “Without knowing how things will be resolved on the federal level, we remain focused on the current reality,” said Brian Murray, deputy coordinator over Harris County’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management o ce.
County’s O ce of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The possibility of FEMA being dissolved still looms over other community leaders who share concerns over the funding provided to local agencies following a natural disaster. “Eliminating FEMA is reckless and will have devastating and deadly consequences,” Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Leslie Briones said. “States already manage disaster response and rely on FEMA’s partnership, funding and
With the 2025 hurricane season underway, many agencies are focused on maintaining preparedness for storms and see the potential for streamlining FEMA processes. “Montgomery County agrees that there could be many improvements to the processes and procedures by which FEMA operates, [such as] streamlining expense control and response/ resiliency capabilities, but we trust the president’s committee to review these issues and make appropriate recommendations,” said Jason Millsaps, executive director of Montgomery
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION
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