Governor Kay Ivey on Friday announced that almost $312 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds have been allocated to Alabama for recovery from Hurricanes Sally and Zeta, which battered the coastal areas of the state in fall 2020.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated the CDBG Disaster Recovery funds totaling $311,732,000 to Alabama as part of the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2022. The funds will be managed by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA).
A majority of the funds are designated by HUD for the areas most impacted by the hurricanes, which include all of Mobile and Baldwin counties as well as the 36502 zip code in western Escambia County. HUD made the determination based on data from Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Natural disasters like Sally and Zeta may test our resolve, but I have seen the resiliency of Alabama and her people time and time again as they recover, rebuild and come back stronger than ever,” Governor Ivey said. “These funds will provide a boost to long-term recovery efforts in the communities affected by these disasters.”
ADECA is in the early stages of developing a plan to guide the grant process for the funds. In the coming months, the agency will lead public meetings to gather feedback as part of the plan’s development. The final plan will include details on the types of recovery projects, eligibility for local governments and the application process. After the plan is approved by HUD, ADECA will begin the application process.
Information regarding the funds and the planning process will be posted to the CDBG Disaster Recovery page of ADECA’s website which is available at adeca.alabama.gov/cdbg-disaster-recovery.
“Community Development Block Grants do so much to help Alabama communities complete needed projects that they otherwise would not be able to afford, and that need becomes even greater when a community is recovering from an unexpected natural disaster,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to play a role with Governor Ivey in this funding process, and we will work in the coming months to develop a clear action plan for deploying the grants in an effective manner.”
Hurricane Sally made landfall on September 16, 2020 in Gulf Shores as a category 2 hurricane. Hurricane Zeta made landfall on October 28, 2020 in Louisiana and quickly crossed near coastal Alabama. Both storms caused significant wind and storm-surge damage.
