County Spotlight: Flood Recovery

COUNTY WORKS TO RESTORE DAMAGED AREAS, HELP RESIDENTS REBUILD AFTER FLOODING

As Richland County residents continue to recover from flooding that devastated the area in October 2015, the County is helping in multiple ways, including administering aid from a federally funded property buyout program.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is responsible for buying and demolishing at-risk properties. It allows the County to acquire properties in a designated floodplain if the properties were substantially damaged during flooding. Once acquired, the properties are demolished and the land is returned to a naturalized state to prevent loss of life and property if flooding happens in the future.

Immediately after waters from the flooding started to recede, the County and FEMA inspectors began inspecting properties for significant damage. Originally, 72 properties were identified; the County then contacted property owners and gave them the option to participate in HMGP.

Those who chose to participate were compensated for their damaged commercial or residential property. Because some of the affected property was not in traditional flooding areas and had never flooded before 2015, many of the property owners did not have flood insurance.

With the help of HMGP, the County was able to help residents who suffered damages get back on their feet — and move on with their lives.

Along with HMGP, the County has administered flooding aid through other efforts, including the Community Development Block Grant program for disaster recovery, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.