Thursday Is Deadline For Blue Roof Requests 

Release Date: October 21, 2008
Release Number: 1791-171

» More Information on Texas Hurricane Ike

AUSTIN, Texas -- Property owners whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Ike have only until 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 to visit a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Right of Entry (ROE) Collection Center and request a free temporary roof repair known as a "Blue Roof."

There are 13 Collection Centers located in Harris, Galveston and Jefferson counties. To hear a recording of locations, Texas residents can call 1-888-ROOF-BLU (1-888-766-3258) Customer service requests may be made by calling (713) 473-3188. Visits must be made in person to the collection centers so that officials can verify identity.

ROE forms must be completed before Corps contractors can install the roofs. The roofs must be damaged less than 50 percent. Blue Roofs cannot be installed on tiled or flat roofs; metal roofs are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The property must be occupied by a permanent resident; vacation homes are not eligible.

Made of reinforced polyethylene, the roofs are paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As of Saturday, 32,926 roofs had been requested, with 20,650 roofs installed. Turnaround time from request to installation is about two weeks.

The roofs are designed to be temporary. While they may last longer, they are certified only for 30 days. Blue Roof qualifications have nothing to do with other FEMA assistance and will not reduce benefits. Blue Roof representatives never solicit participation nor will they ask for financial information or Social Security numbers. Installation contractors will have a copy of a property owners' signed and numbered ROE form and may call to clarify information.

More information about the Hurricane Ike disaster in Texas is available online at www.fema.gov or www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem. Operation Blue Roof information is available at www.swf.usace.army.mil.

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.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 22-Oct-2008 11:02:09