In a significant move to bolster disaster recovery efforts in California, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a $115 million award for California to recover from recent disasters and emergencies.
In continuing its mission, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) assists these communities in recovering from disasters. These funds will provide critical assistance to rehabilitate impacted homes and improve infrastructure in the areas that receive funding.
Through the federal Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR), this award will help communities impacted by unprecedented levels of rain and snow, accompanied by fierce thunderstorms, that led to widespread flooding, causing damage to businesses, roads and homes from the early winter storms in December and January.
On January 14, 2023, President Joe Biden formally declared a major disaster in the state of California. The President’s declaration paved the way for federal disaster assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in regions ravaged by a combination of severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. This marked a pivotal moment in the nation’s recognition of the urgent need for coordinated recovery efforts in the face of increasingly unpredictable and severe weather patterns.
This federal support is a reminder of the importance of proactive and equitable resilience-building strategies. The allocation of resources to communities disproportionately affected by climate change is a crucial step in the pursuit of a more resilient future.