Hurricane Harvey was the second most destructive hurricane in American history. Two years later, thousands are still not home.
LA GRANGE, Texas – It was a Texas-sized disaster. More than a quarter of a million homes were damaged when Hurricane Harvey plowed the state two years ago.
KVUE defenders uncovered thousands of homeowners hanging in limbo, waiting to receive approval for money given them.
This is about time – short term and long term.
The federal government is to offer help in the first eight months. It has spent $ 13,990,000 to help recover victims of Hurricane Harvey. The state is responsible for the long-term recovery. Texas gave $ 6,100,000.
Thousands of families have received this aid, averaging between $ 30,000 and $ 37,443. A family can receive no more than $ 50,000, but thousands of families are still waiting.
That includes David Schneider.
The victim of Hurricane Harvey in La Grange is pulling out of the FEMA trailer
“Let’s just say I’m depressed,” said Schneider.
This is his third step in two years and it has an unknown ending.
“I’m the only FEMA left,” he said.
Of the 300 Texan families still living in FEMA followers, Schneider was the last in La Grange.
“I have 24 hours and they will lock this place,” he said.
It’s a helpless feeling for a man who lost everything in Hurricane Harvey.
“We came home to destroy everything. It was difficult to see everything away, it was very difficult, ”she said and cried.
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Two years doesn’t seem like a long time if you’re starting from scratch. Ortiz just moved into her new home this spring.
“I just never gave up and hope was at the end of the corner,” said Ortiz. “There are no words to explain. It was a blessing. I felt like a gift from God after all the difficulties I went through.”
The road to recovery from Hurricane Harvey has been challenging.
“We had a big problem in our area where we couldn’t accommodate these families,” said Joy Cameron, vice president of the Fayette County Disaster Recovery Team.
The organization didn’t even exist until Harvey met. It still works with 242 families.
“We have been actively performing repairs and working with partner organizations to help families affected by Harvey,” said Cameron. “It’s a process that takes years and years and years and that you only notice when you are at it.” . “
Delays hamper these efforts. Texas has had its share.
Reports criticize Texas and the federal government for responding to Hurricane Harvey
A December report on the state’s response to Hurricane Harvey criticized how long it took for people to get help.
“After a disaster, people need immediate help. Still, it took more than nine months for the program to get up and running in Texas,” the report said.
The Texas General Land Office told KVUE attorneys that it would need to follow federal guidelines in setting up family eligibility verification systems, which is taking time. The GLO has spent $ 6.1 million on victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Yet thousands of families are still waiting to see if they can qualify.
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It’s a lengthy approval process, and there is little to no money in La Grange for the people who need it most. Many of the families who lost their homes in La Grange did not own them or had no insurance.
“Our county didn’t qualify for many of these programs, so getting people into permanent housing has been a little more time-consuming,” said Marsha Pyle, manager of Fayette County’s disaster recovery team.
It is a process that audits have criticized.
LISTEN: Hurricane Harvey – A year later with the KVUE Storm Team
A report from the Texas General Land Office outlines some of the challenges in dealing with disasters like Hurricane Harvey:
First, complex accountability systems must be put in place by the federal government in order to avoid corruption and to guarantee both fairness and quality of services. These accountability systems slow down disaster relief and require more paperwork and bureaucracy to ensure that federal laws and rules are followed. Federal auditors and general inspectors require that everything be documented in writing so that they can examine the books to determine if any abuse has occurred. This is what causes all of the mountains of paperwork and records the federal government has to maintain from GLO, TDEM, and other government agencies, as well as district and city offices.
Second, coordination within the federal system requires time and effort with six levels of government – federal, state, regional planning councils, special districts, counties and municipalities – and then multiple agencies and departments at each level. At the federal level, for example, FEMA stated in its Hurricane Season After-Action Report 2017 of July 12, 2017 that the federal response system was too complex and needed to be simplified.
Third, virtually all of the academic and technical research that has been done on disaster relief speaks in favor of maximum field participation, but maximizing that participation slows the response.
Fourth, the need for quick action in housing programs often runs counter to efforts to strengthen homes, businesses and public infrastructure during reconstruction. It is this heightened resilience that will reduce the impact of future disasters on households and businesses. For example, many homes in high-risk floodplain areas that have been repeatedly flooded are unlikely to be rebuilt.
The report also criticizes the maps of the floodplains. It is widely believed that flood damage prevention to homes is governed by flood zone maps sponsored by FEMA. However, this is not the case. These maps are not fully scientifically based. They are actually insurance assessment tools, not flood probability prediction tools, and cannot be used to predict whether an area is at risk of flooding. Unfortunately, this misconception leads many Texans to suspect that they don’t need flood insurance if they don’t. For example, in Harris County, 55% of homes that flooded during Hurricane Harvey were outside of FEMA’s maps. As repeatedly stated in this report, 83% of homes that flooded in Texas had no flood insurance.
Nonprofits are helping fill the void
“It’s not fair,” said Schneider as he packed to move into a trailer until his house can be built.
Nobody can say how long it will be to get into a house. However, Habitat for Humanity is building houses for several families who have not found shelter in La Grange.
Schneider’s hope is fading. Ortiz had hers restored.
“I knew that God had made a plan for me and I kept hoping that one day we would be home and we will be. We are home,” she said with a smile.
The Mennonites built Ortiz a house in La Grange. The organization has built eight homes for victims of Hurricane Harvey in central Texas.
The Fayette County Disaster Recovery team is coordinating efforts with Samaritan’s Purse to develop an affordable neighborhood called Hope Hill that will include 59 homes for families in need.
PHOTOS: Two years after Hurricane Harvey, families in Texas await help
How to get help
“It’s a big program because we run it in 48 counties,” said Brittany Eck of the Texas General Land Office. “We currently have funds available and will accept applications until we reach a point where applications exceed the funds available. Our average reimbursement is $ 30,000. The limit is $ 50,000 per household. This applies for expenses, so let’s look at what documentable repair costs does an applicant have insurance, FEMA, or other government grant, and funding from nonprofits or other sources to determine what is eligible for reimbursement? This is the first time that reimbursements have been made for disaster survivors in Texas were offered. “
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