FEMA weighing end to Harvey transition sheltering program
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Thursday that the agency is eyeing the end of a transitional sheltering program that has placed thousands of displaced Hurricane Harvey victims in hotels around the Houston area.
FEMA Coordinating Officer Kevin Hannes, one of the agency’s top officials helping coordinate recovery efforts in Texas after Harvey, said that the program is slated to end March 12, unless the state requests an extension and FEMA determines there is a need for the program to continue.
But he said as Harvey’s sixmonth anniversary approaches, the federal government would need to re-evaluate its level of involvement in recovery, even as upward of 3,500 Houston flood victims are still in hotels and other transitional facilities.
The program is intended to be a short-term solution for “evacuees who are not able to return home for an extended or indeterminate period of time following a disaster,” according to FEMA.
“We’re going to have to sunset that program at some point,” Hannes told the Houston Chronicle editorial board.
Hannes comments come as for many Harvey victims, recovery is still a long road. The storm dropped more than 51 inches of rain in some parts of Harris County, killing dozens and flooding hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings.
As of this week the state General Land Office reported that a FEMA program to make emergency repairs to homes damaged by Harvey floodwaters had completed rapid repairs on 585 homes and that 2,500 others were under construction.
On Wednesday, the Houston City Council voted to suspend its regulations prohibiting mobile homes on private property, paving the way for Harvey victims to qualify for FEMA trailers.
As of Monday, the number of families eligible to receive trailers in their yards was 16, with the number expected to rise.
Hannes said FEMA would reevaluate on Feb. 20 whether the need for the transitional sheltering program would continue.
He said based on FEMA’s analysis, there are enough rental units in the Houston area to house displaced flood victims who are in hotels and who are seeking rental housing.
Hannes said volunteer groups and other federal programs can continue to assist flood victims even though they may no longer qualify for the transitional sheltering program.