Over the past decade, Texas lost $225 million in federal grants designated for disaster protection, despite extreme weather causing nearly 700 fatalities. The state has also left $505 million of the $820 million intended for mitigation projects unspent since Hurricane Harvey. This situation highlights a significant issue in disaster preparedness, as states often lack the personnel and expertise to effectively utilize federal funds aimed at protection against climate risks, thereby limiting disaster relief efficacy and community safety.
In the past decade, as extreme weather killed nearly 700 people in Texas, the state relinquished $225 million in federal grant money that it was supposed to spend on protecting residents from disasters.
Texas has not spent $505 million of the $820 million 62 percent that it got for mitigation projects nearly eight years ago after Hurricane Harvey killed 89 people.
The unspent money highlights a central flaw in the nation's approach to protecting against climate change: The federal government gives states and communities both money and responsibility for disaster protection.
States routinely let the government reclaim unspent money or let available money go unused for as long as 20 years.
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