AUSTIN, Texas – Four State of Texas/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers will open Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017: one in Newton County in the city of Orange; one in Harris County in the city of Houston; one in Matagorda County in Bay City; and one in Waller County in the city of Brookshire.Disaster recovery centers offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in 39 counties included in the Texas federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods.Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration...

WASHINGTON – Volunteers representing dozens of local, state, and national organizations are working alongside federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local responders to address the immediate needs of survivors affected by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is advising people who want to help survivors affected by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey to do so through affiliation with the voluntary organizations that are active in the ongoing disaster operations. Those interested in volunteering are requested to do so through organized volunteer organizations and not to self -deploy to affected regions.National Voluntary...

AUSTIN, Texas – Three weeks after the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey, $1.09 billion in federal funds have been provided directly to Texans to aid in their personal recovery.The funds include grants to households from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), claims payments from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).“This is a major milestone in our collective effort to support Texans in their recovery,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin Hannes. “A billion dollars is going directly to survivors of Hurricane...

If you were directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey and live in one of the 39 counties designated for FEMA Individual Assistance and were receiving rental assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prior to the hurricane, you should register with FEMA.You can apply for FEMA help if you were displaced from your HUD-assisted housing because of Hurricane Harvey. This includes those who were:Living in HUD-assisted public housing.Living in a privately owned apartment that provides rental assistance from HUD.Living in a private home using a Section 8 Housing...

Official website of the Department of Homeland SecurityOriginal linkOriginal author: Carmen.Castro

AUSTIN, Texas – A State of Texas/FEMA Disaster Recovery Center will open Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, in Galveston County in the city of Dickinson.Disaster recovery centers offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in counties included in the Texas federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods.Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State and other agencies will be at the center to talk about assistance and to help anyone who needs guidance in filing an application. The new...

Official website of the Department of Homeland SecurityOriginal linkOriginal author: daniel.green2

AUSTIN, Texas – Two State of Texas/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers will open Friday, Sept. 15, 2017: one in Nueces County in Port Aransas and another in Galveston County in League City.Disaster recovery centers offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in counties included in the Texas federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods.Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State and other agencies will be at the centers to talk about assistance and to help anyone who needs...

People who were affected by Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods and who live in the disaster-designated Texas counties should register for FEMA assistance even if they are covered by insurance or have registered with other agencies.Under federal law, FEMA cannot duplicate insurance settlements or other benefits, but there are cases where insured survivors might still be eligible for FEMA help.For example:Your settlement was delayed longer than 30 days after you filed a claim.The settlement does not fully cover all your losses and needs.You exhausted the additional living expenses provided in...

FEMA has authorized Critical Needs Assistance (CNA) for all designated counties in Texas for households with immediate or serious needs due to being displaced from their primary dwelling.Critical needs are life-saving and life-sustaining items including, but not limited to: water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation.To be eligible for CNA a survivor must:Complete a registration with FEMA;Verify identity;Assert at the time of registration that they have critical needs and request financial assistance for those needs and expenses;Have...

AUSTIN, Texas – A State of Texas/FEMA Disaster Recovery Center will open Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in Jefferson County in the city of Port Arthur.Disaster recovery centers offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in counties included in the Texas federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods.Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State and other agencies will be at the center to talk about assistance and to help anyone who needs guidance in filing an application. The...

Official website of the Department of Homeland SecurityOriginal linkOriginal author: daniel.green2

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced additional disaster assistance is available to the state of Texas.  The additional assistance authorizes an increase in federal funding for Public Assistance projects as a result of Hurricane Harvey beginning on August 23, 2017, and continuing.The President’s action today authorizes 90 percent federal cost share of the total eligible costs for public assistance projects (emergency work and the permanent repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities), except for assistance previously approved at 100 percent.# # #Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.twitter.com/femaspox, www.facebook.com/fema...

Translators for most languages spoken by those who want to apply for federal disaster assistance are available at State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, with FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams and by calling the FEMA registration line.These languages include Arabic, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu and Vietnamese.When you call the FEMA toll-free number, 800-621-3362, you will be asked in English to press1 for English, 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages. If you do not press 1, 2 or 3, and do not hang up, an English-speaking operator...

The decision about a structure being “substantially damaged” is made at a local government level, generally by a building official or floodplain manager.Substantial damage applies to a structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) – or 1-percent-annual-chance floodplain – for which the total cost of repairs is 50 percent or more of the structure’s market value before the disaster occurred, regardless of the cause of damage. This percentage could vary among jurisdictions, but must not be below NFIP standards.For example, if a structure’s market value before the damage was $200,000...