St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County will receive more than $112 million in federal funding to help families whose homes were destroyed or damaged during last July’s historic floods.
The funding is part of $3.3 billion in national disaster relief through the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico. Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds will help rebuild homes, provide long-term recovery efforts and revitalize neighborhoods, especially in low- and moderate-income populations.
“These funds will not only help to address the damages incurred by the most recent climate disaster, but will help the City of St. Louis to provide resources for coordinating and planning to mitigate or avoid the severe effects of future disasters,” said Ulysses Clayborn, HUD Great Plains regional administrator.
Federal housing officials said the funding will streamline the recovery process and help communities better prepare for future disasters by providing resources to get funding to communities more quickly and involving families earlier in the process.
“HUD is committed to helping underserved communities in hard-hit areas recover from disasters,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said. “We know that far too often, not-so-privileged households bear the brunt of weather-related disasters. We will ensure they have access to the resources they need to rebuild and recover, equitably.”
Democratic U.S. Rep Cori Bush, who requested the money for St. Louis and St. Louis County, said the region was devastated by the historic floods.
“This funding will provide St. Louis and our neighbors with the tools we need to stay resilient and to keep our communities safe,” she said.
