Ike Update: Texas Disaster Assistance Approaches Half a Billion
Release Date: October 31, 2008
Release Number: 1791-213
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Ike
AUSTIN, Texas -- Seven weeks after Hurricane Ike made landfall, progress continues to be made, but there is still a lot to be done to help Texans move forward with their recovery, according to state and federal officials.
The Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), partners in the state's recovery, provide the following summary of continuing disaster assistance efforts as of Thursday, Oct. 30:
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Nearly 715,000 registrations have been received from the 34 Texas counties designated for FEMA Individual Assistance.
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More than $326 million has been approved for disaster assistance under the Individuals and Households Program. This includes more than $268 million in Housing Assistance and more than $58 million in Other Needs Assistance.
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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved more than $166 million in low-interest disaster loans. The SBA has issued more than 372,000 applications for home loans and more than 76,000 applications for business loans.
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More than 359,000 FEMA home inspections have been completed to date.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, local governments and approved contractors have cleared more than 16.6 million cubic yards of debris from disaster-affected counties.
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The Army Corps has installed more than 27,000 temporary roofs through Operation Blue Roof.
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The Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program has been extended for eligible applicants until Jan. 15, 2009. TSA provides short-term, transitional sheltering by directly paying hotels and motels for evacuees lodging costs.
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Texans seeking rental housing can search more than 32,000 Texas rental properties through FEMA's Housing Portal, available online at asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm.
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FEMA has provided temporary manufactured housing for 339 applicants for those living in communities where other housing options are not feasible.
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The 100th Disaster Recovery Center opened this week. More than 91,000 visits have been made to the centers to date. There are 31 FEMA/State DRC's open in affected counties, offering face-to-face assistance. A list of current locations can be found at www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/pages/dr1791_drc_list.htm.
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More than 150 Community Relations field specialists - including speakers of Spanish, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian and Cambodian - are canvassing areas hit by the hurricane, distributing information about FEMA programs and reaching out to community groups.
- More than $79 million has been obligated to Texas local governments and private non-profits for Public Assistance and more than 1,000 requests for Public Assistance projects have been submitted.
To register for assistance, go online to www.fema.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- and hearing-impaired. Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.
More information is available online at www.fema.gov or www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.
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: Monday, 03-Nov-2008 08:37:23