MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Despite help from insurance and federal agencies after the historic October flood, South Carolina still has more than $204 million in “unmet needs,” documents from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development show. Much of the calculation is based on data from FEMA and the Small Business Administration.
HUD used the data when it decided how to spend $300 million appropriated by Congress for communities flooded across the country in 2015.
South Carolina, where flooding destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and businesses, will get nearly $157 million, HUD announced on Monday. The money can help with housing, businesses, and infrastructure “in the most impacted or distressed areas,” according to a HUD document.County-by-county estimates of “unmet housing and business damage” and number of properties with damage
Data source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development
A majority of the money sent to South Carolina, almost $97 million, will go to the state. HUD split the rest among three municipalities – Lexington County, Richland County, and Columbia.South Carolina HUD allocations
Data source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development
A spokesman for HUD said the communities receiving money directly from HUD had some of the highest unmet needs. News13 is working to find out the threshold for receiving money directly and how it is determined.
Other municipalities affected by the flood will have to split money from the state’s share, leaving most city and county leaders uncertain of how much federal help their communities will receive.
They likely won’t know for months because the process just started. HUD is still creating rules, based on the legislation passed by Congress, for spending the money. A HUD spokesman said that process alone will take months.
Then, the state and the three municipalities receiving money directly will be able to submit their plans for the funding. For communities not receiving money directly from HUD, the state’s plan will likely reveal how much help they’ll get.
A trend from the direct funding, however, may provide some indication. HUD allocated funding for 76 percent of unmet needs for each municipality – Lexington County, Richland County, and Columbia.
The state also received funding for 76 percent of its unmet needs, so municipalities not getting direct funding could theoretically receive the same proportion of money.
News13 contacted multiple state agencies for more details on the disaster recovery money and how it’ll be spent. None released specifics. The governor’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
