More than 100,000 Houston-area residents have requested FEMA disaster assistance – Houston Public Media

More than 100,000 Houston-area residents requested disaster relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Tuesday, according to local officials.

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher and Dallas-area Congressman Colin Allred were among the officials in Heights to discuss storm damage. Allred said they are taking a regional approach to recovering from the storm because of recent damage in North Texas and Oklahoma.

Allred said there were concerns about the state’s infrastructure just before hurricane season.

“People are constantly dealing with either a power outage or a demand to reduce their energy usage because we are about to run out of power. And we have to solve this problem,” Allred said.

Congresswoman Fletcher attributed the rapid disaster declaration to local, state and federal officials working together.

“The storm happened Thursday night and by Friday night, President Biden had signed a presidential disaster declaration,” Fletcher said. “It’s because of the work of our leaders here on the ground, in the city, in the county. And Governor Abbott, who forwarded this request to the President’s office.

Fletcher said there were no official figures yet on the number of homes damaged. According to CenterPoint, more than 20,000 customers are still without power as of Wednesday afternoon. At least one person died during Tuesday’s storm.

Harris County Commissioner Leslie Briones, who represents the affected Heights area, said extreme weather is becoming more common.

“What we have learned from the experts is that these extreme weather conditions, whether it is severe heat or severe frost, make our environment more vulnerable and in particular our trees,” she said . “When we had the derecho event…we had basically the same level of debris in less than an hour of storm time as we had during Hurricane Harvey.”

Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin, who also represents the region, added that climate change is correlated with extreme weather.

“We can continue to move forward and be more resilient to the frequency and storms that will occur. It’s not a question of ‘if’, it’s a question of ‘when,’” she said.

Residents are encouraged to continue to seek assistance from FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) online, by phone, or at disaster recovery centers. The two organizations work together at various centers in the Houston area and three new centers opened Tuesday.