The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency has advanced the state of Texas nearly $39 million on future reimbursements to speed up repairs to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) campus in Galveston.

The medical school suffered severe damage following Hurricane Ike.

Half of the funding will be used toward paying for expenses like moisture control, decontamination and cleaning up heating and air conditioning systems, microbial remediation, telecommunications recovery restoration of electronic and other vital records and equipment recovery and replacement.

“The funds for UTMB are a critical piece of our ongoing Public Assistance program reimbursements for Texas,” says Federal Coordinating Officer Stephen M. De Blasio Sr. “To date, FEMA has obligated almost $209 million across the disaster for infrastructure repairs, emergency measures and debris removal.”

State Coordinating Officer Joan Haun says Texas continues to recover from Ike. “The UTMB facility suffered greatly from the hurricane,” Haun says. “We are pleased that FEMA has been able to expedite help to the facility.”

FEMA based its $38.9 million advance on invoices submitted from UTMB consultants hired to assess the damage caused by Ike. The hurricane slammed into the Texas coast back in September with the Galveston area facing a significant brunt of the flood and wind damage.

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