HOUSTON – Harvey brought record rainfall that still has parts of Houston reeling.
It will take a lot of coordination from city, state, and federal officials to allocate resources where they are needed.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner created a new position to help the city move forward. He appointed former Shell Oil Company CEO Marvin Odum as chief recovery officer.
"A singular person, who has the singular responsibility of leading the recovery efforts, as we move forward," said Turner. “What I’m asking Marvin to do is to help us get out of our comfort zone, and put those things out there that we know can make a difference and then help to drive the public and the private sector to get it done.”
During a press conference Thursday, Turner told reporters that Odum will work for the city without accepting a salary.
"You should look to us for what I would call world-class coordination," Odum said.
The City of Houston expects to receive tens of billions of dollars to fund recovery projects from city, county, state, and federal agencies, as well as donations from businesses, nonprofits and private citizens.
WATCH: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announces recovery czar position
"This coordination is going to be necessary to make sure we take advantage of that in a way that it gets to the right places, at the right time for the maximum impact," said Odum.
Turner said Odum will work closely with Steve Costello, the city's chief resilience officer.
The Mayor created the position for Costello in 2016 to improve drainage systems in Houston and lower flooding risks.
"The Mayor is really interested in getting things accomplished on the infrastructure side," said Costello.
"Steve continues to serve a very vital role and someone who I know Marvin can benefit from," said Turner.
According to Turner and Costello, the City of Houston is actively working on a buyout program with the Harris County Flood Control District and a program to give you money to raise your home, if it's in a flood-prone area.
"FEMA has given us grant money to raise the houses, even though they're in flood-prone areas, and raise them 4, 5 feet," said Costello.
Odum helped oversee Shell’s recovery efforts after disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy.
He retired from Shell last year.
For more information about the buyout or elevation programs, contact FEMA, the Harris County Flood Control District, or the City of Houston. Always good to include contact info if you have it.
