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AUSTIN, Texas – Six weeks after Hurricane Ike came roaring ashore onto the Texas coast more than $400 million in federal and state financial assistance has poured into the state’s hard hit counties.
The Texas Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), partners in the state’s recovery, provide the following summary of continuing disaster assistance as of Thursday, Oct. 23:
- More than 710,000 registrations have been received from 34 Texas counties designated as disaster areas in Ike’s aftermath.
- More than $303 million in disaster assistance under the Individuals and Households Program has been approved for Hurricane Ike recovery. This includes more than $249 million in Housing Assistance and more than $54 million in Other Needs Assistance.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved more than $103 million in low-interest disaster loans. The SBA has issued more than 366,000 applications for home loans and more than 75,000 applications for business loans.
- More than 349,000 home inspections have been completed to date.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, local governments and contractors have cleared more than 13.3 million cubic yards of debris from disaster-affected counties.
- The Corps has installed more than 24,000 temporary roofs through Operation Blue Roof and collected more than 35,000 Right-of-Entry forms.
- For eligible residents who still cannot return home, FEMA is providing short-term, transitional sheltering by directly paying hotels and motels for evacuees who are lodging there. More than 7,300 eligible individuals and families are checked in under the program.
- Texans seeking rental housing can search more than 29,000 Texas rental properties in FEMA’s Housing Portal, which is available online at https://asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm.
- FEMA has provided temporary manufactured housing for 208 applicants.
- There are 40 FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Centers open in affected counties, offering face-to-face assistance. A list of current locations can be found at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/pages/dr1791_drc_list.htm ). More than 80,000 visits have been made to the centers.
- More than 160 community relationswww.txdps.state.tx.us/dem field specialists – including speakers of Spanish, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian and Cambodian – are canvassing areas hit by the hurricane, distributing information about FEMA programs and reaching out to community groups.
To register for assistance, go online to www.fema.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362),
(TTY) 1-800-462-7585. Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.
More information is available online at www.fema.gov or.
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FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339). Homeowners, renters and business owners with questions for the SBA should call the Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955). |
