FEMA approved $17M in mitigation, resilience projects last month
The Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency reminded government, municipal, and nonprofit entities of the availability of the Working Capital Advance pilot program.
Municipalities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in Puerto Rico have received approximately $17 million in obligations for resilience and damage mitigation projects through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), confirmed Manuel Laboy, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3).
“During the month of October, we received about a dozen notifications from FEMA announcing the approval and allocation of funds to start a string of projects with investments exceeding $17 million,” Laboy said.
“These projects aim to provide energy resilience, flood control and soil stabilization, among others. I thank FEMA for the support received for the execution of these works aimed at providing security and preventing the loss of life and property,” he added.
Among the approved projects is a safe room to be developed by the Corporation for Health Services and Socioeconomic Development “El Otoao” in Utuado’s Mameyes neighborhood. FEMA allocated $94,395 for the initial engineering and architecture phase, with a total estimated cost of $1.4 million. This multipurpose space will provide protection during extreme wind events for vulnerable populations and emergency personnel once completed.
Additionally, FEMA approved a project to strengthen the Department of the Family’s Arecibo office to withstand high winds, in compliance with 2018 Puerto Rico Building Codes and American Society of Civil Engineers standards. FEMA allocated $364,062 for the initial phase, with an estimated $4.7 million for the construction phase.
Other HMGP-approved projects include the design and study of five flood control projects. These include a retaining wall for the Arenas ravine in Maunabo, water drainage systems in Añasco’s San Antonio sector and María neighborhood, and additional work in the “El Gallinero” ravine in Aguada, the Olivares community in Lajas, and a reinforced concrete channel for the Berrenchín ravine in Yauco.
Energy redundancy projects will also be undertaken at the Puerto Rico Education and Rehabilitation Society’s facilities in Ceiba, Ponce and San Juan, as well as electric generator installations at Guayama’s Municipal Public Works Office. In Trujillo Alto, drainage and erosion control measures will be implemented along the Blasina stream in the Saint Just neighborhood.
“Resilience and risk mitigation projects are key to preventing situations that may harm citizens. At COR3, we have focused much of our efforts on assisting municipalities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in drafting mitigation project proposals that are submitted to FEMA for evaluation and approval,” Laboy said.
He highlighted the progress since 2021, noting that there were no submitted or approved proposals at the beginning of that year.
“We currently have 207 proposals accepted by FEMA with allocated funds of around $563.2 million. The total cost of these works is estimated to be $3 billion,” Laboy said.
He also reminded entities about the Working Capital Advance pilot program, which offers up to 75% of the total obligation in three disbursements.
