The changes make it easier for households facing evacuation to access relocation funds.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is making changes to its disaster assistance program that aim to expand immediate cash payments to people affected by natural disasters and assist households who face financial barriers to evacuation, reports Willy Blackmore in Word In Black.
Evacuation can often be costly for families: “when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, researchers found that it cost households $1200, on average, to ride out the storm elsewhere (including lost wages) — more, if they didn’t have a free place to stay and had to sleep in a hotel. The FEMA payments, however, are only $750 per household.”
The new rules call for providing up-front assistance for various types of housing options, including rental housing and the cost of staying with family or friends. “If a lack of cash makes it difficult to get out before a storm, the long-term effects on the housing market are what often force people away for good — the new disaster assistance program could at least help mitigate that somewhat.”
Read the full story: New Disaster Assistance May Make it Easier for Black People to Evacuate
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