10
in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut; Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast; and, more recently,
Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands;
and wildfires in California – as well as many other disasters.
Since 2019, HUD has allocated more than $16 billion of CDBG-MIT funds to 22 states and local
governments for activities that lessen the impact of future disasters. Fifty percent of these grant funds
must benefit low- and moderate-income persons. The State of Louisiana, for example, will use its $1.2
billion CDBG-MIT allocation to implement the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, to “fundamentally change
Louisiana’s approach to statewide flood mitigation activities” (https://www.watershed.la.gov/action-
plan). CDBG-MIT is a unique and significant opportunity for grant recipients to use this assistance in areas
impacted by recent disasters to carry out strategic and high-impact activities that mitigate disaster risk
and reduce future losses, especially for low- and moderate-income families and households.
CDBG-DR grants are also a significant source of Federal support for building resilience, particularly in low-
and moderate-income areas. HUD has long required CDBG-DR grantees to implement certain climate-
related measures as part of recovery (e.g., elevation of structures in the flood plain, green building
standards) and many CDBG-DR grantees have implemented additional forward-looking investments in
resilience. The State of New Jersey, for example, has used $200 million of funding from its Hurricane
Sandy CDBG-DR grant to increase the energy resilience of many of its hospitals, allowing for continued
operations in the event of future power disruptions.
Additionally, HUD obligated nearly $1 billion of funding through the National Disaster Resilience
competition, funding 13 innovative resilience projects across the country. This includes initiatives in
Virginia to foster the development of businesses focused on resilience
6
and to increase California’s
resilience to wildfires.
7
HUD has also obligated $930 million for regional flood mitigation projects in New
York, New Jersey, and Connecticut through Rebuild by Design.
8
While CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT grants are not permanently authorized, after more than 20 years of
supplemental appropriations to fund the awards, CDBG-DR is one of the largest sources of funding for
recovery and resilience building, and the largest source that primarily benefits persons with low and
moderate income.
Flood resilience: HUD has implemented program-specific policies to increase climate resilience,
particularly related to flooding. For example, residential new construction and substantial improvements
funded with CDBG-DR assistance are now required to elevate two feet above base flood elevation.
Similarly, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Office of Multifamily Housing (MF) recently updated
its standards to require new construction projects in 100-year floodplains to elevate two feet above base
flood elevation. FHA MF has extended the same limitations that apply in Coastal High Hazard Areas (V
Zones) to all areas within the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA) for new construction and
substantial rehabilitation, with lesser but still significant limitations on existing properties. HUD will
continue this effort by assessing and initiating a modernization of its floodplain management regulations
in 24 CFR part 55, potentially extending increased flood protection across all HUD programs.
6
https://riseresilience.org/
7
https://www.hcd.ca.gov/community-development/disaster-recovery-programs/ndrc.shtml
8
http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/our-work/sandy-projects