HOUSTON – Thousands of Houston-area residents are facing a post-flood period of recovery and need to get homes and property cleaned out and in some cases, major repairs done before they’re habitable again.
FEMA funds are not available. Not yet anyway.
Recommended Videos
Texas has to make a case to the federal government to get help. That includes proof that 1) 800 homes were damaged and 2) the state expects more than $54 million in uninsured damages. If you have damage and have not yet reported it to the state, here is your starting point: damage.tdem.texas.gov
Once that happens, you’ll be able to apply for funds through the FEMA website, or just go straight to DisasterAssistance.gov
In the spirit of ‘something is better than nothing,’ FEMA assistance could help a lot of people, but Nim Kidd, the state’s Director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management is working to manage expectations:
“But I want to set the standard here. FEMA Individual Assistance is a maximum of $75,000 grant. And if you go back to Hurricane Harvey, the average payout was only $2,400 per household,” said Monday at a news conference in Conroe, where at least 200 families have been flooded out of their homes.
Beyond community support and what help you may find through your local church, there are other avenues you can pursue.
OTHER AVENUES FOR FINANCIAL AND FOOD ASSISTANCE
These options come from the government’s Disaster Assistance website --
LOANS:
Home and Property Disaster Loans | U.S. Small Business Administration
- You may borrow up to $500,000 to repair or replace your primary home to its pre-disaster condition.
- You may also be able to borrow up to $100,000 to replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
- You may not use the loan to replace very expensive or rare and unique items
- The President or Gov Abbott has to declare your neighborhood a disaster area, which Abbott has done for 91 flood-damaged counties in SE Texas
FOOD HELP:
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) - Disaster Response | US Dept of Agriculture
- All children and teens (age 18 and under) who visit an approved SFSP feeding site can get free meals.
- Meals are also available for people over 18 who participate in school programs for people with disabilities.
- Text Summer Meals to 97779 to find a site in your area.
- If you need food help today, call the National Hunger Hotline. Hotline staff can help you find food near where you live: 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479)
INSURANCE HELP:
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) | US Dept of Homeland Security/FEMA
- Flood insurance is available to property owners and renters, even if you’ve had a claim before. Your community must participate in the NFIP for you to be able to get it.
- You do not have to repay flood insurance payments.
Application Process
To learn more about your flood risk and flood insurance options, or to find a provider in your area, call or visit the pages below:
- Call 1-800-427-4661.
- Visit FloodSmart.gov for more information.
RELATED: Recovering from natural disasters is slow and bureaucratic. New FEMA rules aim to cut the red tape
FEMA’s NEW RULES TO MAKING GETTING HELP EASIER AND FASTER
New rules went into effect in March to help cut the red tape for people in need.
HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS WITH NOT ENOUGH INSURANCE
Under previous rules, homeowners who had received payments from their insurance company for home repairs but not enough to cover all of the damage were essentially out of luck when it came to getting help from FEMA. Now those homeowners can apply to FEMA for help. Deanne Criswell, who heads FEMA, gave an example of a homeowner who has $80,000 in damage but receives only $45,000 from the insurance company. Previously, FEMA couldn’t help them because their insurance payout already exceeded the agency’s assistance cap of $42,500 per disaster. Now, that homeowner can get money from the agency to make up the difference.
GETTING RID OF THE LOAN RULE
Under previous rules, disaster survivors first had to apply for a loan with the Small Business Administration and get rejected before they could apply for FEMA assistance. Criswell said survivors found the SBA application requirement “confusing and challenging,” so the agency is eliminating that requirement.
CHANGES TO CRITICAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE
The agency has had something called critical needs assistance, currently $750, that survivors can use for whatever they need right after a disaster: baby formula or food, for example. But states or tribal nations had to specifically request that category of assistance, and it was only done on a case-by-case basis. Now, anytime a disaster is declared that includes FEMA’s individual assistance funding stream, those $750 payments will be available. Survivors still have to apply, and there is some vetting to prevent fraud. But it bypasses the application that states and tribal nations had to make. That doesn’t mean that every disaster will include these payments. Many declared disasters are more limited in scope.
OTHER CHANGES
Disaster survivors with disabilities can use FEMA money to make changes to their homes that make them more accessible. Under previous rules the agency would only pay to rebuild things damaged in the disaster. People with pre-existing problems in their home, like a leaky roof, can now get money from the agency to fix the house.
And FEMA is creating a new category of aid called displacement assistance, designed to help those who can’t return to their home. It gives them money for housing while they’re looking for a long-term rental and has flexibility so that they can, for example, use the money to pay a friend’s utilities if they’re crashing on a couch.