Dear Neighbor,
I returned home from Washington last Friday to visit areas of our district hit hard by Thursday’s storm and to hear from those affected and those working to help respond to this emergency. Of course, my thoughts have been with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this terrible storm, and with everyone impacted by the storm.
I am so grateful to the brave first responders, frontline workers, and local leaders who—once again—have been on the ground doing everything they can to assist Houston and Harris County residents and respond to the storms. Over the weekend, I spent time visiting affected neighborhoods and meeting with local leaders and first responders at Harris County’s TranStar command center and the City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) about immediate and long-term needs.
On Friday evening, President Biden signed a Major Disaster Declaration for our area in response to the request from Governor Abbott. The White House responded with speed that will be critical over the days, weeks, and months ahead as we work to recover. 400 FEMA employees have arrived in Houston, and FEMA has already issued $1 million in assistance. FEMA will remain on the ground in the weeks to come to help us recover.
With that in mind, I am writing to share information that may be useful to you or to someone you know that has been impacted by the storm. I hope you will forward this information to anyone you know who may need it.
Local Resources
- Residents who suffered damage from the recent storm and need assistance can call the Southeast Texas Severe Storms Home Cleanup hotline at 832-509-2977 through Friday, May 31.
- Residents who need to find a Cooling Center or a place to charge, both the City of Houston and Harris County have set up centers at locations across our community. For City of Houston centers, click here. For Harris County centers, click here.
- If you use durable medical equipment, like oxygen machines, that rely on power, please call my team at 713-353-8680 to see if we can help.
- If you or someone you know is without shelter and in need of transportation, call 3-1-1.
- To report power outages or downed power lines to CenterPoint, call 713-207-2222. More information from CenterPoint is available here.
- To report damage to your home, neighborhood, or business to the City of Houston, call 3-1-1 or file a report on the Houston 311 Mobile App.
- The Texas Department of Insurance is warning people of potential contracting scams as they begin making repairs, and have set up a helpline to prevent contractor scams. Please call 1-800-252-3439 if you need assistance.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Resources
Harris County residents can now apply for individual assistance from FEMA. You can do so one of three ways:
- Visit DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA smartphone application at www.fema.gov
- Call 1-800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585) or 1-800-621-3362 for Video Relay Service; or
- Visit a Disaster Recovery Center in person. There are two locations for the time being that are open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Fondé Community Center at 110 Sabine St.; and
- Spring Branch Family Development Center at 8575 Pitner Road.
FEMA’S Individuals and Households Programs (IHP) provide financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by a disaster, who have uninsured or under-insured necessary expenses and serious needs. IHP assistance is not a substitute for insurance and is intended to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts. Assistance may include:
FEMA’S Disaster Legal Services (DLS) provides legal aid to low-income individuals and is limited to cases that would not normally incur legal fees. Typically, the types of legal assistance offered include help with insurance claims (e.g. health, property, or life), recovery or reproduction of legal documents lost in the disaster, help with home repairs and disputes with contractors and/or landlords, the preparation of powers of attorney and guardianship materials, and FEMA appeals. Learn more about DLS here.
FEMA is also implementing streamlined application requirements to apply for assistance through the Small Business Administration (SBA) and FEMA at the same time. SBA offers low-interest disaster loans to homeowners and renters in a declared major disaster area. You don't need to own a business to apply for SBA assistance. To apply for this assistance, click here.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Resources
- Disaster loan applications may be submitted through the MySBA Loan Portal or in person at a Disaster Recovery Center. Please contact the SBA’s Customer Service Center by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or by phone at 1-800-659-2955 for further assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
- Application Filing Deadlines:
- Physical Damage: July 16, 2024
- Economic Injury: February 18, 2025
Additional Resources
There are many tools and resources on Ready.gov to help prepare before a disaster or get support after, including:
● Pets and Animals
● Emergency Alerts
● Coping with Disasters
● FEMA Mobile App
● Get Involved
Our district team and I will work closely with federal agencies and our local leaders in the days, weeks, and months ahead. If you need assistance with federal disaster aid, we are here to help. You can email here or call (713) 353-8680 at any time.
Our recovery will require continued collaboration and we will do everything we can to help our community.
Sincerely,
