HOUSTON — On Tuesday, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured damaged areas in the Houston area, witnessed relief efforts and met with local leaders as thousands of residents remain impacted across Southeast Texas from last week’s derecho storm.
Deanne Criswell made multiple stops while visiting Houston – first touring the disaster relief site at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston in Spring Branch and seeing damage at a nearby apartment complex. Among the officials, were Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones. They toured the city to survey the damage that was left behind.
The second stop was at Sinclair Elementary School in the Lazybrook-Timbergrove neighborhood which was damaged during the storm. There, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin spoke with Criswell about needs in the area.
The final stop was at the Fondé Community Center where officials shared an update on disaster relief efforts.
"We have over 400 people on the ground right now supporting our mobile registration centers," Criswell said. "Our disaster survivor assistance teams, which are individuals that will go door to door with an iPad, either help you register for assistance or check on your case to see if there's some documentation that's missing. We are sending additional people in to help support, also making sure we bring in Spanish speakers."
Criswell said that as of Tuesday, 48,000 people had applied for assistance with FEMA having already issued $1 million.
More information on applying for FEMA assistance can be found by clicking here.