President Trump’s executive order that rescinded his predecessor’s policy to boost long-term resilience in communities due to climate-change effects appears to be at odds with new U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development hurricane-rebuilding block grants that have references to rising sea levels. The funds, to states and territories hard hit in 2017, total $7.4 billion.
An agency notice that accompanies the grants seeks “a description of how the grantee plans to promote sound, sustainable, long-term recovery planning informed by a post-disaster evaluation of hazard risk “that takes into account continued sea-level rise.” Texas was awarded $5 billion, Florida $615.9 million, Puerto Rico $1.5 billion and the U.S. Virgin Islands $242.6 million.