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For the Record - FEMA's Role in Texas

FEDERAL ROLE IS TO FILL THE GAPS IN STATE’S RESOURCES

AUSTIN, Texas– Federal disaster assistance is granted when the destruction and losses following a major disaster are of a magnitude and severity that are beyond a state’s resources. The role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to support a state in its response and recovery mission by supplementing efforts with federal assets, providing technical guidance, and coordinating the activities of other federal agencies. FEMA is in Texas today at the request of the Governor.

It is never easy to recover from a catastrophic event; it takes time, patience and thoughtful decisions on the best course of action for a variety of challenges that may present themselves. FEMA was in Texas before Ike made landfall; worked shoulder to shoulder with federal, state and local entities during the response phase; and will continue to be fully engaged in support of the State of Texas during the short- and long-term recovery mission. A recovery’s success is significantly dependent on the involvement and cooperation of all partners.

More than $1.4 billion in state and federal disaster assistance has been approved for Texans and includes $360 million in Housing Assistance, $514 million in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans, and $373 million in Public Assistance funding obligated to the state.

Temporary housing is both the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management’s (GDEM) and FEMA’s number one priority. To date, more than 11,100 Texas households remain in temporary housing provided by FEMA and its partners and more than 81,000 applicants have received either rental assistance or home repair funds or both. A four-pronged approach is being used to address Texas’ temporary housing needs:

  1. FEMA/HUD Disaster Housing Assistance Program units (3,814 applicants).
  2. FEMA-paid hotels/motels (4,335 applicants).
  3. Rental assistance and home repair (81,766 applicants).
  4. Eligible applicants in FEMA-provided manufactured housing (3,034 applicants).

During a disaster recovery, requests for registration and Public Assistance extensions, additional funding and reimbursement cost-share adjustments from states are common. To date, FEMA has approved three requests for registration extensions, two extensions for transitional sheltering assistance, two date extensions for Requests for Public Assistance (RPA), and made adjustments to the Public Assistance cost-share for Hurricane Ike in Texas.

Also, three area field offices were opened in Galveston, Webster and Beaumont to be closer to the heavily impacted areas.  Thousands of federal workers from all over the country have assisted Texas, at one time or another, in the disaster recovery.

FEMA will continue to support its state and local partners as it has been doing since the President declared that an emergency existed in Texas.

 

Last Modified: Wednesday, 11-Aug-2010 14:46:58 EDT