FEMA Reaches Out To Flooded Communities In Texas 

Release Date: August 1, 2007
Release Number: 1709-029

» More Information on Texas Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

WACO, Texas -- Throughout the recovery from flooding that began June 16, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reached out through face-to-face visits to individuals, business owners, community organizations and government agencies in disaster-designated counties to deliver comprehensive recovery information.  As the flooding continued, so have FEMA's proactive Community Relations (CR) teams. 

CR teams began canvassing hard-hit communities July 5, providing information about individual assistance grants, housing assistance, crisis counseling, unemployment and other federal, state and local disaster recovery resources.  These ground teams also serve as FEMA's eyes and ears to find out first hand the problems that individuals and communities face.  Teams meet with emergency managers to determine the various levels and locations of damages to create a strategy for outreach. 

"Our goal is to get information to the public quickly and to identify any special recovery needs within a community," said Federal Coordinating Officer Kenneth Clark.  "CR teams are our first face-to-face contact with victims."

While CR's ultimate goal is to ensure every bit of recovery information is received by the victims, including non-English speaking populations, they also ensure that the state-run Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) have a continuing supply of informational material to hand to disaster survivors and that communities know about the variety of services available at a DRC.

As team members continue visiting designated counties, they will be reminding individuals that they should begin the disaster assistance process by calling FEMA's toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).  For those with speech or hearing impairment, the special TTY number to call is 1-800-462-7585.  Both numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time, seven days a week until further notice.

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, 01-Aug-2007 08:36:23