FEMA Funds St. Luke's Flood Mitigation Efforts

Release Date: August 12, 2004 Release number: R6-04-104

DENTON, Texas -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today it has obligated $6.3 million to the state of Texas to elevate critical electrical equipment and auxiliary power units at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, a critical care facility located in the Texas Medical Center. This project will protect critical equipment from future flooding events. In the last two years FEMA has funded over $200 million in mitigation projects at the Texas Medical Center to reduce the impact of future flooding.

Tropical Storm Allison’s heavy rains caused severe flooding, which disabled electrical distribution systems resulting in loss of power to storage freezers and destabilized critical supplies.

“We are approaching the height of hurricane season and mitigation projects like the one announced today will save money and keep the hospital running,” said Michael D, Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. “We encourage other hospitals, businesses and homeowners to take steps now to prevent future flood losses.”

FEMA provides 75 percent of eligible project costs and the remaining 25 percent comes from local resources. Where feasible, recovery efforts incorporate mitigation measures to help protect against possible future flooding.

The federal funds are made available under the FEMA Public Assistance Program. The state of Texas administers the program under which eligible disaster-related costs are reimbursed to government units and certain non-profit organizations providing essential government-like services in the areas of emergency protective measures, debris removal and restoration of public facilities.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.