Saturday will mark the first anniversary of Harvey’s landfall in Texas and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday he’ll spend that day touring Kashmere Gardens, Meyerland, and other neighborhoods that are still recovering from the storm.
Turner said there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people still living in flood damaged homes. Many of those are senior citizens, people with disabilities, or middle income families who have exhausted their funds.
“So that’s why I want to take the time this week, and specifically like on Saturday…to walk in these communities, to go and visit some of these individuals, just to say to them, if nothing else, ‘You are not forgotten. We’re still focusing on your situation, and we’re not going to leave you where you’ve been over the past year,’” the Mayor noted.
Turner said he’s frustrated with the slow pace of federal aid. The city is still waiting on more than $1 billion in community development block grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Turner expects that money to arrive in November.
The Mayor urged residents to vote in Harris County’s bond election this Saturday, August 25. The county seeks to raise $2.5 billion for flood control and mitigation projects, including voluntary buyouts of homes too deep in flood plains to protect. Fewer than 6 percent of the county’s registered voters had cast ballots as of the end of early voting on Tuesday.