Houston mayor asks for 200 mln dollars for hurricane recovery

HOUSTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Thursday that he has asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott for 200 million U.S. dollars to speed up the recovery in the U.S. city in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

During a press conference held at City Hall, Turner said that he has sent a letter to Abbott requesting that the state of Texas give Houston 200 million dollars as an "advance," so the city would use the funds to repair homes that got flooded.

"When the Congress and the White House provide us with aid, we will use the money to pay the state back," said Turner.

"It is a way of speeding things up for Houston, the leading economic engine of Texas," the mayor added.

He also commented on the disaster aid bill the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled this week, which amounts to 81 billion dollars.

Texas officials estimate that the state needs 61 billion dollars for its recovery. "All of us in the Texas region agree with that 61 billion dollar assessment," the mayor underlined.

Hurricane Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging nearly 200,000 homes. Enditem