It has been a year and a half since Hurricane Ike made landfall on Texas’ southeast coast. Today, recovery continues with support from the state of Texas, the federal government, county and city officials and dozens of local agencies.
Looking at the federal assistance provided to Texas to date – nearly $3 billion in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has helped thousands of individuals and families obtain safe and secure housing and assisted in the enormous cost for emergency protective measures, debris removal and repairs to the damaged infrastructure in the local communities.
In addition, more than $157 million in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants for property acquisitions has been awarded, while other non-FEMA aid such as Social Service Block Grants (SSBG) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is helping many recovering Texas cities and counties.
Disaster recovery is a collaborative process that thrives on the partnerships at the state, federal and local level. With everyone working together we are able to capitalize on ideas and opportunities to assist hurricane survivors and mitigate damages from future disasters.
Along with the grants and low-interest disaster loans, recovery continues to be supported by programs and people. FEMA caseworkers and Disaster Case Management (DCM) staff from local agencies are working with survivors who still have unmet needs.
Also, several programs have been extended including HUD’s Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP-Ike), which was extended to May 27, 2010; FEMA’s Temporary Housing Program, now set to end July 9, 2010; and FEMA’s DCM Pilot Program now scheduled to run through Sept. 30, 2010.
FEMA is still here, 18 months later, working closely with its state and local partners to complete recovery operations.
Brad Harris
Hurricane Ike Recovery Manager
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Last Modified: Wednesday, 17-Mar-2010 10:22:32 EDT