COUNTY SEEKS FUNDS TO BUY 104 HOMES THAT ARE FLOOD-PRONE

HOUSTON» County officials in the Houston area are asking the federal government for $17 million to purchase more than 100 homes at the highest risk of flooding, although more than 1,000 residents have requested buyouts since Hurricane Harvey pummeled the area.

The Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, the Houston Chronicle reported. The funds would be used to buy and demolish 104 homes that are at least 2 feet below the flood plain.

The grant application was based on flooding in the previous two years, so it may not apply to the estimated 136,000 buildings in the county that were flooded during Harvey. The homes being eyed for buyouts are scattered across the county and aren’t clustered in one area, said Russ Poppe, executive director for the county flood control district.

FEMA insurance chief: Harvey losses could top $11 billion.

The head of the National Flood Insurance Program said Wednesday early estimates show Hurricane Harvey will result in about $11 billion in payouts to insured homeowners, mostly in southeast Texas.

That would likely put Harvey as the second-costliest storm in the history of the federal insurance program, said Roy E. Wright, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation.

More than $16 billion was paid out after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

It is still too soon to estimate losses from Hurricane Irma, Wright said.

Concert to benefit Texas residents.

Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt are among the stars headlining a benefit concert next week to help Texas residents affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Organizers said the “Harvey Can’t Mess With Texas” concert will be held in Austin on Sept. 22. It will be broadcast live on 11 Tegna stations in the state and on YouTube.

Chainsaw-wielding nun shows everyone how to clean up after hurricane.

MIAMI» In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a nun — dressed in her habit — fired up a chainsaw and went to work, clearing trees from a roadway.

Sister Margaret Ann, principal of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School in Miami, said the street from her convent to the campus was blocked Monday by downed trees, forcing drivers to steer onto the sidewalk, where they were sliding in mud and debris.

Sister Margaret Ann spent about three hours Monday morning helping clear the road.

“People were kind of stopping and taking pictures,” she said.