Detroit will get nearly $350 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help with recovery from storm damage that happened in August 2023.
At a press conference in Detroit to make the announcement, Kera Package, the department's deputy assistant secretary for grant programs, said Detroit will directly receive nearly $347 million "to support recovery from severe storms and flooding."
"During this time, areas in lower Michigan, especially here in Detroit, experienced several storm fronts that brought in heavy rains, strong winds, and severe tornadoes," Package said.
The storms flooded basements; damaged homes, businesses, and infrastructure; and disrupted utility service for hundreds of thousands of people.
The grants can be used both for recovery and for preventing similar damage from future storms.
Sam Smalley, deputy director of Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department, said the city cleaned over 600 miles of sewer lines in 2024 and routinely spends $50 million a year on maintenance for the sewer system. The city plans to invest in infrastructure like sewer capacity to prevent future flooding too.
Apart from Detroit, Wayne County is receiving about $70 million and the state of Michigan about $44 million from HUD.
The money headed to the state is part of nearly $12 billion in Community Development Block Grants for disaster recovery that HUD has awarded to communities across 24 states and territories.
The grant funds are appropriated by Congress and allocated by HUD to rebuild disaster-impacted areas and provide crucial seed money to start the long-term recovery process.
