Houston facing roughly $52.7 million local bill after derecho and Hurricane Beryl, officials say

Comptroller Chris Hollins and Finance Director Melissa Dubowsky told the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee on Sept. 9 that preliminary damage estimates for the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl total about $210–211 million and that FEMA is expected to cover roughly 75% of eligible costs, leaving the city with an estimated local share of about $52.7 million.

"The total cost estimate of the 2 disasters together, right now is $210,000,000," Finance Director Melissa Dubowsky said during her presentation. She told council members the largest single category of damage is debris removal — roughly $131 million combined — followed by emergency protective measures and permanent-work categories.

The city has moved initial funds to continue recovery work while it pursues federal reimbursement. Dubowsky said council previously approved a transfer of $23 million from the budget stabilization fund into the disaster recovery fund "to respond to the immediate needs from the derecho storm," and that about $18 million in debris invoices have been paid from that account so far. "So far in the debris removal, we have paid approximately $18,000,000 in invoices, and that is coming from the budget stabilization fund," she said.

Assistant Director Fazil Sayed described the FEMA public-assistance process the city will use to recover costs, noting it is document-intensive and multiyear. "FEMA is gonna come in and they want meticulous details about every aspect of the damage," Sayed said, and added that site inspections and project worksheets can extend the timeline. Dubowsky said the city has requested expedited project worksheets and hopes to secure a FEMA advance of about $44 million to help cover near-term cash needs, but stressed that many projects and inspections will take months to years to complete.

Council members pressed staff about payment timing and operational readiness after some residents reported delayed debris pickup. Council Member Joaquin Martinez said debris removal in parts of his district still appears incomplete weeks after initial collection. Dubowsky and Sayed said emergency procurement and debris-hauler contracts allowed work to begin before FEMA approval, but that invoice formats and FEMA compliance checks can slow reimbursement processing. Dubowsky said department overtime and other emergency work are currently being paid from departments' operating budgets and will be reclassified as disaster expenses when FEMA funds arrive.

Officials emphasized that the current figures are preliminary and subject to change as site assessments and FEMA reviews continue. Dubowsky urged council members to expect follow-up reports as the city completes damage assessments and receives federal and state responses.

Next steps: staff will continue to submit project worksheets to FEMA, respond to RFIs and brief council on incoming FEMA advances and the detailed amortization of disaster-related outflows. Dubowsky told the committee she expects some initial advances to be processed within weeks for category A reimbursement, while permanent-work projects will require longer inspection and documentation timelines.