AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Nearly two years after Hurricane Harvey battered Houston and the Texas coast, state lawmakers approved setting aside more than $3 billion to help pay for flood control projects.

The bill sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday had been deemed a priority after the Category 4 hurricane struck the Texas coast in 2017 and dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston.

Harvey caused an estimated $125 billion in damage . At least 68 people directly died from Harvey's effects.

The bill would allow local governments to apply for grants for flood control and planning projects.

A state report in January warned that powerful natural disasters on the scale of Harvey's deadly destruction will become more frequent because of a changing climate.

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