Tulsa County Begins Buyouts Related To Historic 2019 Floods

Tulsa County will open applications Monday for the first buyout connected to the 2019 Arkansas River flooding.

A $14.7 million federal grant will be used to buy an estimated 50-60 properties, with priority given to lower income households in areas that frequently flood.

It’s not limited to property in the Arkansas River corridor.

Emergency Management Director Joe Kralicek can point out homes in danger all over the county.

“Everybody has to live somewhere, but those homes if they were being built today would have not been allowed just because of their flood risk,” said Kralicek.

Some homes damaged in the 2019 flood were demolished soon afterward, some are abandoned, and others were repaired but remain at risk.

The County wants to buy and demolish some of those homes, so people aren't living in neighborhoods prone to flood.

“We really need this program in order to target and help people get out of a situation they're in really through no fault of their own,” said Kralicek.

More than 800 properties fit the criteria for the program, and 177 property owners have already expressed interest.

The purely voluntary buyout offers will include all transaction fees and an incentive payment.

Kralicek said the County will start making offers this summer.

“By the end of the year, you're going to be seeing properties that were flooded properties that are no longer there, and are now back to green space, safe areas where we're not going to have to be concerned about flooding again,” he said.

Click here for an overview of the program.

Click here for more details on the program.