HUD assigns $277M to P.R. as part of $2.3B nationwide allocation
Puerto Rico has been assigned $277.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pushing to $20.2 million the island has received in long-term disaster recovery support.
The agency announced the allocation of more than $2.3 billion to support hard-hit areas in 15 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
This allocation today is supported through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program and will address seriously damaged housing, businesses and infrastructure from disasters that occurred since 2017.
The CDBG-DR Program requires grantees to “develop thoughtful recovery plans informed by local residents.”
“Today, we take another important step to ensure those hardest-hit by recent disasters can fully recover,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “The grants awarded today will help these local communities continue the recovery process of rebuilding their homes, restoring their businesses and repairing their critical infrastructure.”
CDBG-DR grants support a variety of disaster recovery activities including housing redevelopment and rebuilding, business assistance, economic revitalization, and infrastructure repair.
Grantees are required to spend the majority of these recovery funds in “most impacted” areas as identified by HUD. HUD will issue administrative guidelines shortly for use of the funds to address grantees’ long-term recovery needs, particularly in the area of housing recovery, the agency said.
