Disaster housing: Lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey
Abstract
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck the State of Texas, and became the first Category 4 hurricane to strike the USA since 2005. Approximately 178 cm of rain fell over Texas during a seven-day period, with sustained winds of 209 km/h. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requested the State of Texas to administer a temporary housing programme called the Direct Housing Mission. This was administered by FEMA by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) with technical and financial support from FEMA. As the first state to run this programme, the GLO has captured lessons learned and a way forward for future temporary housing missions, to include the use of more resilient and innovative temporary housing units.
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Author's Biography
Christa López is Deputy Director for Operations and Chief of Staff for Community Development and Revitalization at the Texas General Land Office, where she leads the operational grant programmes and staff for disaster recovery and mitigation. Christa holds a master of arts in emergency and disaster management, a master of science in counselling, and a bachelor of science in horticulture, and is finalising her PhD in public policy administration. She has responded to disasters related to hurricanes, explosions, tornadoes, wildfires and floods, as well as the Space Shuttle Columbia crash.
Colin L. Nickells is a management analyst within the Texas General Land Office (GLO) Community Development and Revitalization division. He has a master of arts degree with concentrations in international economics and political economy from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He also has a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of North Texas. Colin co-authored ‘Hurricane Harvey: Texas at Risk’, the GLO’s comprehensive after-action report on Hurricane Harvey, which includes policy recommendations aimed at disaster response and recovery reform. He is currently managing special projects related to the GLO’s Community Development Block Grant programmes for disaster recovery and mitigation.
Citation
López, Christa and Nickells, Colin L. (2020, June 1). Disaster housing: Lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 13, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/MZJY6520.
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