On the recordJune 8, 2016
On April 17-18, 2016 Houston experienced a historic flood event that claimed the lives of eight people; damaged over 1,150 households; disrupted hundreds of businesses; closed community centers, schools, and places of worship due to flood waters. On Monday, April 25, I led a tour and held a press conference with the Army Corps of Engineers, local and state elected officials to focus on the damaged caused by the flood and to refocus our efforts on reducing the damage and frequency of flooding in the Houston area. On April 25, President Obama granted the request for federal Individual Assistance for Harris County residences and business owners who were affected by severe weather and flooding. I would like to thank all the local, state and federal officials who helped in making this possible. On May 3, 2016, I held a town hall for the residents of Houston, which includes my constituents in the 18th Congressional District so that they could learn from FEMA what resources were available to assist them with recovery. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the story of flooding in Houston for 2016--in early June another record setting rainfall led to catastrophic flooding throughout the Houston area. At the beginning of this month Houston once again was flooded and another Disaster Assistance request was submitted to the White House.…
