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U.S FEMA to improve disaster relief program to speed help for disaster victims

FEMA to overhaul its disaster aid system after decades of criticism

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The agency announced on Friday that it will fundamentally overhaul the way it delivers aid to survivors, launching new programs to provide quick cash payments to those in need and eliminating much of the bureaucracy that hampers aid access. 

“This is really a transformational, deeply impactful, meaningful, and historic change in our provision of individual assistance to survivors of natural disasters,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. “For too long, in the face of too many natural disasters and extreme weather events, survivors have had to overcome many barriers to access to federal assistance.”

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Mental Health was Hurricane Harvey’s Greatest Toll, First of its Kind Registry Finds

           

Harris County Public Health Martha Marquez, from left, Mac McClendon and Dr. Umair A. Shah, talk with Hurricane Harvey victim Juan Cazares in the Aldine community Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Houston. The assessments of became part of a recently released report.  Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Hurricane Harvey Registry - Initial Report - February 2019 (20 page .PDF report)

houstonchronicle.com - by Todd Ackerman - February 21, 2019

Hurricane Harvey’s greatest lingering toll was on Houstonians’ mental health, according to initial findings from a first-of-its-kind registry that surveyed people about the 2017 storm’s impact on their lives.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to the registry, modeled on the one created in the aftermath of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, reported intrusive or unintended thoughts about the hurricane and its resulting flooding. That was a higher rate than physical symptoms reported by respondents.

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Some Homeowners Left Out of Harvey Funding

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.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Harvey Housing Repair Program About to Open Its Doors

           

kfdm.com - by Staff - November 27, 2018

From Texas General Land Office - Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the locations of regional Homeowner Assistance Program offices in advance of the application release dates. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) allocated $1.098 billion of $2.7 billion in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of thousands of owner-occupied single-family homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Homeowners in Harris County and the city of Houston will be able to apply for similar programs funded by direct allocations. The regional offices will be open to the public starting on the date the application is released (see article in the link below).

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - Texas General Land Office - South East Texas Region

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UTHealth Finds Unprecedented Psychological Distress Months After Harvey

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Health and Recovery in the New Year: A County-Wide Snapshot, Institute for Health Policy, UTHealth School of Public Health, 2018 - (23 page .PDF document)

More than half of Harris County residents are still struggling

sph.uth.edu - by Hannah Rhodes - April 4, 2018

HOUSTON – Four months after Hurricane Harvey soaked the Houston area and displaced more than a third of the population, an alarming 52 percent of Harris County residents said they were still struggling to recover, according to a new report from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.

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Federal Harvey Relief Funds Might Take Years, Officials Tell Legislators

           

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 . . .

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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MOLD Materials

(Please see attachments below for printed materials) 

Mold & Mildew

Cleaning Up Your Flood-Damaged Home

FEMA 606/July 2007

The Problem With Mold

Mildew and molds are fungi - simple microscopic organisms that thrive anywhere there is a moist environment. Molds are a necessary part of the environment; without them, leaves would not decay and aspects of soil enrichment could not take place. It is their ability to destroy organic materials that makes mold a problem for people.

Mildew (mold in its early stages) and molds grow on wood products, ceiling tiles, cardboard, wallpaper, carpets, drywall, fabric, plants, foods, insulation, decaying leaves and other organic materials. Mold colonies can start to grow on a damp surface within 24 to 48 hours. They reproduce via spores - tiny, lightweight ìseedsî- that travel through the air. Molds digest organic material, eventually destroying the material they grow on, and then spread to destroy adjacent organic material. In addition to the damage molds can cause in your home, they can also cause mild to severe health problems. See the Health Problems From Mold section to check for possible mold related health problems.

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