Orange County Resilience Network Working Group - TX

kfdm.com - by Cassidy Wood - December 11, 2018

Orange County homeowners are struggling to balance large loan payments and credit card debt after rebuilding from Harvey.

With many programs becoming available for those who need help rebuilding, there is one group of people who feel they are being left behind; homeowners who began rebuilding shortly after the storm using their own financial means. These homeowners are taking out loans and increasing their debt and now need help; homeowners like Linda Rose . . .

. . . After Harvey, Rose got some money from flood insurance; but her policy would go up substantially unless she rebuilt her home feet higher. So, Rose, and the rest of her neighbors on Meadowlark Street in Bridge City, are paying out-of-pocket to elevate their homes.

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CLICK HERE - REPORT - WHO - Air pollution and child health: prescribing clean air

usatoday.com - by Doyle Rice - October 30, 2018

Nearly 2 billion children – about 93 percent of the world’s children under the age of 15 – breathe toxic, putrid air that’s so polluted it puts their health and well-being at serious risk, a new report said. 

Many of the children die: The United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 600,000 children died in 2016 from lower respiratory infections caused by dirty air . . . 

 . . . Air pollution can affect children's cognitive ability and can also trigger asthma as well as cancer. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk for chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease later in life . . . 

 . . . The report said that overall, about 7 million people around the world die each year because of air pollution. In fact, one-third of the deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease stem from polluted air, the WHO said.

Flood damaged debris piled outside of homes in Port Arthur Texas. The city saw 47 inches of rain during the storm. - Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune

texastribune.org - by Brandon Formby - October 2, 2017

 . . . state lawmakers were told that Housing and Urban Development disaster relief funds, which includes money for extensive home repairs or rebuilds, could take seven to 32 months to work their way through bureaucratic processes and several layers of government agencies . . . Congress approved $7.4 billion in HUD disaster relief funds last month. But that may have to be shared with Florida and Puerto Rico, which have each been hit by hurricanes in the weeks after Harvey battered Texas, unless legislators approve another aid package . . .

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kfdm.com - by Staff - August 12, 2016

From Orange County Mosquito Control District:

Orange County Mosquito Control District has been informed by the Texas Department of Health that a collection of mosquitoes from Orange County tested positive for West Nile virus. The mosquitoes testing positive for WNV were collected on August 2nd from an area on the west side of the County - North of IH-10, East of HWY 105, West of Doty Rd. and South of Sawmill Rd., in Vidor. This is the 1st sample of mosquitoes testing positive for the West Nile virus in Orange County in 2016. This information tells us that the virus is cycling between the birds and the mosquitoes in the area. So, it is important for everyone to take personal protective measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites regardless of what area it is that they live in throughout the county. Currently, West Nile virus activity in Texas is as follows: Mosquitoes Collections 903, Bird’s 1, Horses 4, Humans 37, Total 945. West Nile virus activity has been detected in 26 counties in Texas so far this year.

Treatments in the area have been increased and we are following up with additional mosquito collections and the testing of samples from the area to determine whether or not viral activity still exists. These procedures will continue until we receive negative results from the T.D.H. labs.