Director Adrienne L. Williams-Octalien
Welcome!
Welcome to the Office of Disaster Recovery’s (ODR) website, where our mission is to build a safe, resilient community that transforms and strengthens the Territory’s infrastructure by building robust systems, cultivating stakeholder collaboration, and completing recovery projects to better position the community to thrive.
The ODR recognizes the importance of transparency and remains committed to keeping the community informed about the status of projects and recovery developments across the territory. As the centralized hub for all things disaster recovery, you will find a wealth of information about ongoing projects and initiatives stemming from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
When the Office of Disaster Recovery was established in February 2019, the recovery was expected to cost $8 billion, but only $517 million had been obligated for permanent projects. With a long road to recovery ahead, the goal was to facilitate the obligation of the then-expected $8 billion so that projects could start and funds could be expended. Despite significant challenges such as a lack of local funds to cover the 10% match for FEMA-Public Assistance projects, capacity constraints, unclear guidance for implementing the Bipartisan Act of 2018, and adjusting to the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, through sustained collaboration with all stakeholders and the strategic implementation of policies and guiding principles, the ODR successfully overcame these obstacles, increasing obligations from $517M in 2019 to $24 billion in 2025.
Since its establishment, the office has expanded from fewer than 10 employees to over 100, largely in part to the addition of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, which was transferred from the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority to the ODR in November of 2023. The onboarding of additional staff to implement the Rebuild USVI program has also increased the staff count. Rebuild USVI’s Super Project Management Office (SPMO) accounts for $13.7 billion of the recovery effort.
Now, interested stakeholders can explore details on this expansion and the utilization of CDBG-DR funds and their associated contracts. As well as view the status of projects under the Rebuild USVI initiative.
Let me point out some additional key features of the site:
- You can view “All Projects” and sort by status, islands, and/or agency.
- Take a look at the status of all “Rebuild USVI Projects.”
- The “News and Reports” tab will keep you updated with the latest developments, and you can also find ODR’s annual reports there.
- The “Programs” page explains each funding source and its parameters.
- “Priority Projects” highlights key projects sorted by sector priorities: hospitals, roads, power, housing, and schools, etc.
- The “2017 Hurricanes” provides specific information on each program, including what has been allocated, obligated, and expended by island and by sector/category.
- Our “Procurements” page lists solicitations for recovery projects.
We are pleased to unveil these updates to the public and hope to remain your source for factual data on the United States Virgin Islands’ recovery process. This website will continue to be a centralized hub for all recovery partners, upholding its purpose as a reliable channel for communication and outreach on all things disaster recovery.
On behalf of myself and the entire staff of ODR, we thank you for visiting our website and for your continued support.
Join us as we work together to “Build a Resilient Virgin Islands”!
