FEMA Approves $8.7 Million to Texas for Rita Repairs 

Release Date: June 9, 2006
Release Number: 1606-218

» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita

AUSTIN, Texas -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that federal disaster aid in the form of Public Assistance has been made available to reimburse the State of Texas for disaster relief. The State of Texas administers FEMA's Public Assistance program under which eligible and documented disaster-related costs are reimbursed to state and local government units. FEMA has obligated funds for the following projects:

Baptist Hospitals of SE Texas, $3,705,018 for repairing roof and interior damage from Hurricane Rita.

Sabine Pass Independent School District, $2,558,487 for emergency protective measures to return facilities to pre-Hurricane Rita conditions, including power washing, dewatering, sanitizing, removal of wet and moldy damaged materials and drying out of properties system-wide.

Jefferson County, $1,443,179 for emergency protective measures between Sept. 23 and Oct. 15, 2005, to manage traffic flow and aid in evacuating residents from Hurricane Rita

Jefferson County, $994,911 for roof repairs to Ford Arena complex.

FEMA's Public Assistance reimbursement program is one way federal assistance gets to the state and local governments and to certain private nonprofit organizations. These reimbursement grants allow them to respond to disasters, to recover from their impact and to mitigate impact from future disasters. While these grants are aimed at governments and organizations - their final goal is to help a community and all its citizens recover from devastating natural disasters.

FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Last Modified: Friday, 09-Jun-2006 14:08:54