Tulsa County To Hold Several Meetings To Discuss FEMA Buyout Program

Wednesday, April 6 was the first of four meetings about the possible buy-out of Tulsa County homes that were damaged by 2019 floods. The city said FEMA has up to $14.7 million in disaster recovery grants to help homeowners. The money for the buyouts would come from the federal government.

Tulsa County is asking anyone who was impacted by the historic 2019 flood to come to the meetings and pre-apply. The city will review the applications, gather any additional information, and submit a formal application to FEMA by June 1st.

During the first meeting, organizers explained that it will be a long process. They said it could be up to a year before homeowners see an offer for their homes, but the goal is to get residents out of the floodplain to reduce the impact of future flooding.

Some expressed their concerns with the program’s timeline, saying they don’t want to go through the whole process and wait a year just to get a low appraisal. But Matthew Vandiver said he’s ready to put the flood in the past.

“I don’t really want to go through another flood again. My wife grew up in the house we live in and they went through the flood in 86, now we’ve gone through the same thing here in 2019. I really don’t want to go through that again. So, if the offer is reasonable, yeah, we’re taking it,” said Vandiver.

The upcoming meetings can be found below:

1. April 11, 2022: 6 – 8 p.m. Northwest Tulsa Hub 19 S. 49th W. Ave.
2. April 19, 2022: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. O’Brien Park 6149 N. Lewis Ave.
3. April 25, 2022: 6:30 – 8 p.m. Collinsville Veterans Community Center 903 W. Main St.