Texas Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Update
Release Date: July 9, 2001
Release Number: 1379-58
» More Information on Texas Severe Storms & Flooding
Houston, TX -- One month after President Bush declared a major disaster for the State of Texas, 85,000 Texans have registered for disaster assistance. The amount for federal and state disaster assistance for families and businesses totals more than $272 million, which includes $122 million approved to help with temporary housing costs and $53.3 million approved in U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest disaster loans. The state also has approved $97 million in grants for disaster-related needs. To date, more than 20,000 residents have visited the Disaster Recovery Centers.
"While housing needs still exist, we are moving into the recovery phase of the disaster," said Scott Wells, federal coordinating officer for the recovery effort. "As people put their lives back in order, it is time to focus on the future. We are committed to the long-term challenges of helping individuals and communities rebuild in ways that will lessen the potential damages of future disasters."
Residents have 30 days left to register for federal and state disaster assistance. The deadline is August 8, 2001, at the close of business. "Although that sounds like a long way off, the sooner residents call the toll-free number, the faster we can get them into the system and get assistance out to them," said Wells. Residents in the 30 declared counties may call 1-800-462-9029 (1-800-462-7585 for hearing- and speech-impaired persons) to register for assistance, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Following is a brief description of Tropical Storm Allison's impact and response and recovery efforts to date by the Division of Emergency Management (DEM), Texas Department of the Public Safety; the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other state, federal and voluntary agencies:
IMPACT/DAMAGES
The latest state damaged-housing report reflects the following numbers for single-family homes, mobile homes, and multi-family houses.
- 3,555 destroyed
- more than 10,600 with major damage
- and nearly 34,000 with minor damage
- for a total of 48,000 homes affected
VOLUNTARY AGENCIES
American Red Cross
- The American Red Cross responded with a total of 46 shelters for displaced residents.
- Fifty-six feeding sites were opened and 1.83 million meals served.
- More than 19,000 cleanup kits have been given out.
- To date,14,208 people have registered with the Red Cross and its hotline continues to receive approximately 95 calls an hour from residents affected by the storms.
- To register for American Red Cross assistance call1-877-725-0400.
Salvation Army
- The Salvation Army opened up six shelters to assist displaced individuals and families.
- More than 330,000 meals have been served and the Salvation Army has issued 2.8 million essential items such as household goods and clothing.
- Nearly 7,000 families have been assisted through the organization's social services.
Shelters
- Forty-nine shelters housed 12,355 people.
DISASTER RECOVERY CENTERS (DRC)
- A total of 17 Disaster Recovery Centers have opened throughout the disaster area and 13 centers remain open. Two more centers are scheduled to open on July 11.
- More than 20,000 people have visited Disaster Recovery Centers, with an average of 1,000 visitors daily.
REGISTRATIONS
- To date, more than 85,000 residents have registered for assistance.
- The FEMA Helpline has received 52,000 calls from residents requesting information or an update on their application status.
EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE:
- More than $122 million has been approved for 53,137 households to assist with rental housing and/or minor home repairs.
Even with all the state and federal aid for home repairs and rental assistance distributed thus far, we still find people who are in need of adequate temporary housing. There is a serious rental crunch in some areas, particularly in Houston and Harris Counties.
To date, 30 travel trailers are currently occupied and an additional hundred are ready for placement. FEMA's Human Services continues to conduct pre-placement interviews with applicants to identify housing needs. People who may also be considered for a travel trailer include those whose homes have been inspected and are eligible for disaster housing assistance. FEMA officials emphasize that trailers are an interim solution until more adequate housing is available. Travel trailers are not suitable for everyone and are being provided on a case-by-case basis. Those who are eligible for housing assistance may request a travel trailer by calling the Helpline at 1-800-525-0321 (TTY: 1-800-462-7585) or by visiting a Disaster Recovery Center.
DAMAGE INSPECTIONS:
- To date, 65,000 homes have been inspected.
U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM
- SBA has received more than 17,000 applications.
- SBA has approved more than $53.3 million to homeowners, renters and business owners.
SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans to help homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses recover from a disaster. Loan proceeds may be used to repair or replace disaster-damaged property that is under or uninsured.
THE INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY GRANT PROGRAM (IFG)
The State of Texas has activated a grant program to help people with the cost of disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other relief programs. These grants may be used to cover disaster-related expenses such as essential home repairs, replacement of essential personal property or transportation. The program is administered by the state and funded at 75 percent by FEMA and 25 percent by the state.
- The State of Texas has approved $97 million in grants for more than 17,350 households.
HAZARD MITIGATION
Mitigation specialists at Disaster Recovery Centers have advised more than 5,800 applicants with information on how to make your home safer and more secure from the effects of floods by repairing and rebuilding in
disaster-resistant ways.
FEMA rebuilding specialists also will be at Home Depots and Lowe's stores in the Houston area over the next two weeks. Everyone is welcome.
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (INFRASTRUCTURE)
- The City of Houston has removed and disposed 419,000 cubic yards of the flood-related debris. It is anticipated that the contracted debris removal will be completed by July 30.
Texas Medical Center
Total rainfall from Tropical Storm Allison on June 5-6 in the area around the Texas Medical Center was measured at 14.8 inches with more than 8.5 inches in a two-hour period. The rainfall caused extensive flooding to numerous structures on the medical center campus.
It is anticipated that approximately 30 to 35 separate campus institutions will submit Requests for Public Assistance (RPAs). As of July 2, 17 applicants from the Texas Medical Center were in the process of submitting RPAs.
FEMA and the state have established a special task force to develop a comprehensive recovery plan for coordinating delivery of state and federal assistance to the Texas Medical Center. The 40-member task force team brings together experts in the field of Public Assistance management, building assessment, and cost analysis. The task force is based in a satellite disaster field office near the Medical Center Campus.
DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
Individuals living in the disaster area who are unable to work because of the recent flooding have until July 16 to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Claims may be made by calling the Texas WORKFORCE Commission (TWC), Houston Unemployment Insurance Tele-Center at 713-982-7400 or the regional TWC Tele-Center network at 800-939-6631.
- To date, a total of $32,161 in claims has been paid to nearly 400 applicants.
CRISIS COUNSELING
FEMA has provided a grant to the Texas Department of Mental Health for immediate crisis counseling services for anyone affected by the recent storms. To receive help or information on crisis counseling visit the
FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center in your area. The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
DISASTER WORKERS IN HOUSTON
- Currently, nearly 1,200 disaster employees are working in the recovery effort.
- FEMA has 558 disaster workers in Houston to assist in the recovery operation, including 118 local area hires.
- Other agencies account for 603 employees, including 243 state disaster workers, 174 SBA employees, and 77 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
- The corps is assisting in the hookup of travel trailers, monitoring city and county debris contractors, and has installed and maintained generators to four major hospitals at the Texas Medical Center.
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP)
As of June 29, NFIP has received 23,428 claims of losses filed in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison. In Texas, there were more than 305,000 policyholders who had flood coverage before the storms and floods struck,
protecting them economically.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The response to Tropical Storm Allison will go down as one of the largest disasters in Texas history. Two weeks after the storm, nearly $100 million in assistance was approved for individuals and families affected. For FEMA, this represents the most amount money to more people in less time than in any disaster in the agency's history.
"As we continue the recovery process, we are still putting emphasis on habitable housing for every eligible person impacted by the floods," Wells said.
Last Modified: Friday, 17-Oct-2003 16:05:46