Home Elevation Grant Opportunity If YOU Had Water damage due to Flooding - 5/6 5 pm deadline

Home Elevation Grant Opportunity Announcement The City of Houston, in partnership with the Texas Water Development Board, will submit a grant application on behalf of interested homeowners to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Grant.  This grant will request funds for Elevation of Existing Homes damaged during the 2015 and 2016 flooding events. Who is Eligible? Only Homeowners who have flood insurance.  The flood insurance must be from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and be effective at the time of the grant application. How can this grant help me to avoid flood damage in the future? If awarded, this grant will pay between 75% and 100% of eligible costs to elevate your home.  For this grant, home elevation means that your existing house will be lifted so that the lowest floor is one foot above the expected flood elevation and a new foundation will be built to support your home. What are my chances of receiving a grant award? FMA is a nationally competitive grant program.  Homeowners who have the strongest chance of award are those who own a property with a history of receiving large flood insurance claim payments over time.  These properties have special FEMA designations - FMA Repetitive Loss or FMA Severe Repetitive Loss Properties.  To have a chance of award, elevating your home must save FEMA more in future avoided flood claim payments than it costs to do the home elevation.  High priority will be given to properties that were damaged in the 2015 Memorial Day, 2015 Halloween and 2016 Tax Day Flood Events.  There is no guarantee of award. How do I apply? Follow the "Submitting Instructions" and complete the "Voluntary Interest Form and Checklist" published on the HoustonRecovers.org website under Rebuilding/Repairs. Attach the required documents and follow the instructions to submit your package to the City's Floodplain Management Office (FMO).  DUE TO A COMPRESSED FEMA SCHEDULE, Applications are due to FMO by May 6, 2016 at 5pm How do I learn more? Keep monitoring the HoustonRecovers.org website for more details.   You can also contact the City's Floodplain Management Office with your questions at 832.394.8854 or fmo@houstontx.gov. INTERESTED HOMEOWNERS MUST SUBMIT THEIR INFORMATION BY FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2016 AT 5PM TO MEET THE FEMA DEADLINE If you chose to submit online, you still need to print sign and upload page 2 of this form: http://houstontx.gov/citizensnet/home-elevation-grant-opp.pdf If you chose to submit in person or via mail/fax/email please print and complete pages 1 & 2 of this form: http://houstontx.gov/citizensnet/home-elevation-grant-opp.pdf For all information on Repairing Flood Damage in the Floodplain, please visit this link FAQs | Repairing Flood Damage in the Floodplain

Dear business owners,

Yesterday evening, President Barack Obama signed the official federal disaster declaration for Harris County due to the flooding on April 18. We wanted to make you aware that a number of federal resources are now available to businesses and individuals in Harris County through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration. We have established this webpage to describe the resources available.

In order to apply for any federal assistance, businesses and individuals must register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. This is the critical first step to apply for any federal recovery resources.

For those needing assistance navigating the process with the federal agencies and for those businesses that are outside of the federally-designated disaster zone, please call the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's National Disaster Help Desk for Business at 888-MY BIZ HELP.

For those looking to make donations to the relief effort, Mayor Turner established the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund. You can find more information here.

Please stay tuned to our website as we will post additional resources as they become available. Also, please forward this to anyone in the area who may benefit from this aid.

Thank you,

Greater Houston Partnership