Texas Disaster Relief Continues, Housing Assistance Tops $3 Million
Release Date: September 15, 1999
Release Number: 1287-10
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Bret
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Despite the severity of hurricanes sweeping the Atlantic Coast, disaster relief for Hurricane Bret will not be interrupted, report federal and state officials.
"We will have a staff working in South Texas as long as we are needed here," said Brad Gair, federal coordinating officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"Remember, to receive the disaster assistance for which you may be eligible, you must call the toll-free number and register," said Ed Laundy, state coordinating officer with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "If you have not called 1-800-462-9029, you have not applied for state and federal assistance programs."
Three weeks after Hurricane Bret hit, more than $3.1 million has been approved for temporary housing and to make immediate repairs for almost 8,000 households affected by Hurricane Bret. As of Tuesday, Sept.15, more than 10,200 persons have registered for assistance.
FEMA and state disaster workers, Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster recovery loans continue to be available at Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs). Information is available from Texas state officials regarding tax matters, consumer and insurance issues, unemployment assistance and crisis intervention. As of Sept. 14, 467 individuals have received crisis intervention. No appointment is necessary to visit a DRC.
The present locations are: Falfurrias, Donna, Corpus Christi, Kingsville, Benavides and Sarita. The DRC at Alice closes today, Sept. 15. Hours at are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All centers will be closed Sunday except Brownsville. The Brownsville DRC will be open Friday, Sept. 17 through Sunday, Sept. 19. Hours on Friday and Saturday are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday hours are 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Applicants also can get follow-up information by calling FEMA's toll-free Helpline at 1-800-525-0321. (For the speech or hearing-impaired, the number is TTY 1-800-660-8005.) This is the
number to call for those who need to change information or add information to an application that has already been submitted. More than 645 Texans have already called the Helpline number since Aug. 22.
Before visiting a center or calling the Helpline, anyone who suffered losses or damages from Hurricane Bret is encouraged to call 1-800-462-9029 (TTY 1-800-462-7585 for persons with speech or hearing impairments). The application line operates between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. (CST) every day.
Last Modified: Friday, 12-Dec-2003 10:47:09