One Month in, FEMA Provides More than $13 Million to Texans
Release Date: July 30, 2007
Release Number: 1709-025
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WACO, Texas -- One month after the Presidential disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved more than $13 million in disaster aid for affected Texas residents. Approved funds are available for temporary housing assistance, grants to repair damaged homes and replace personal property.
- Individual assistance is available to residents in 25 Texas counties: Archer, Bell, Brown, Burnet, Cherokee, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Denton, Eastland, Grayson, Hamilton, Hood, Lampasas, Llano, Parker, Runnels, Smith, Starr, Tarrant, Travis, Victoria, Webb, Wichita and Williamson.
- Public Assistance is available in 34 Texas counties: Archer, Baylor, Bosque, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Eastland, Erath, Fannin, Grayson, Hamilton, Hunt, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Mills, Montague, San Saba, Stephens, Victoria, Webb, Wichita, Williamson and Wise. Public Assistance funds are available to state, county and local governments as well as some private nonprofits for emergency protective measures, to remove debris and restore damaged infrastructure. FEMA staff is working with officials in affected areas to assess needs and guide them through the application process.
- To date, FEMA has approved $11,075,932 in Housing Assistance funds. These funds include temporary rental assistance for safe shelter to individuals whose homes were severely damaged. Additionally, these funds can be used for repairs to restore damaged homes to safe and habitable conditions.
- Supplementing the housing assistance, FEMA has approved $2,212,422 in Other Needs Assistance (ONA) to help residents replace damaged or destroyed personal property, transportation expenses, medical and dental bills, and funeral expenses resulting from the disaster.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $4,866,200 in disaster loan assistance to 124 applicants, both individuals and businesses. The SBA is the primary source of federal funds for long-term disaster recovery for owners of private property, including homeowners, renters, non-farm businesses of all sizes and private non-profit organizations. These low-interest loans cover costs of repair or replacement of damaged real estate, personal property and business assets not fully covered by insurance or other aid.
- FEMA housing inspectors have completed 4,687 inspections of damaged properties.
- 6,674 individuals and families have registered for FEMA assistance through FEMA’s toll-free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or by going online at www.fema.gov. Individuals with speech or hearing impairment may call 1-800-462-7585 (TTY). Recovery specialists are available to assist Texans with the registration process, provide counsel on assistance programs and to help residents check the status of their applications. Registrations and approved funds by designated counties are:
County Registrants Approved funds (Housing and ONA)
Archer 35 $135,582 Bell 230 $242,815 Brown 2 $990 Burnet 446 $823,894 Cherokee 81 $103,617 Comanche 15 $12,109 Cooke 707 $2,427,656 Coryell 346 $241,484 Denton 272 $586,606 Eastland 245 $1,346,458 Grayson 867 $1,473,216 Hamilton 8 $41,472 Hood 161 $521,746 Lampasas 151 $91,674 Llano 66 $74,914 Parker 92 $458,882 Smith 210 $136,620 Starr 627 $831,868 Tarrant 597 $1,491,416 Travis 29 $15,355 Victoria 93 $279,441 Webb 462 $517,044 Wichita 413 $1,282,203 Williamson 139 $151,281
- FEMA operates six fixed and three mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs). Thus far, 3,181 individuals have visited these centers, where Texans can meet one-on-one with disaster recovery specialists to check on the status of their application, learn about other types of aid that may be available, and receive information about how to avoid future disaster losses when repairing or rebuilding. Customer Service Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration will be on hand to answer questions and help renters, homeowners, businesses of any size, and private non-profit organizations fill out loan applications. Fixed DRCs are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
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, 30-Jul-2007 18:01:44