Imelda’s full damage, potential for federal funds still not clear
Across Southeast Texas on Monday, damage assessment teams continued to evaluate Tropical Storm Imelda’s toll as officials sought donations to assist victims.
The full extent of Imelda’s impact, which battered Southeast Texas last week and left some parts of the region underwater through the weekend, likely will not be known for days. Emergency crews continue to survey still-flooded areas and assess if total statewide damages will be enough for Texas to qualify for federal disaster recovery funding.
Even if federal money is approved, it could take some time for those funds to arrive, which is in part why Houston and Harris County officials are turning to the public for more immediate help.
Mayor Sylvester Turner, County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale on Monday urged residents to donate to a local emergency fund to assist those in the area. The Imelda Assistance Fund will be monitored by a local nonprofit.
The total number of affected homes in unincorporated Harris County was 691 as of Monday afternoon, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Hidalgo said the tally could reach as high as 800 as crews continue their assessments.
Houston officials are expecting a similar tick upward, to as high as 1,000 affected homes, officials said.
Many of the property owners whose homes took on water were still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and Turner urged residents to continue helping their distressed neighbors.
“We can’t control Mother Nature, but what we can control is how we respond to Mother Nature,” he said Monday. “And I know we have storm fatigue, but this city has faced challenge after challenge.”
More than 10,000 flooded vehicle insurance claims were filed across the region after the storm, according to an insurance trade association.
Already, counties have told the Texas Department of Emergency Management that at least 5,000 homes were affected or damaged. Those 11 counties also estimated they sustained roughly $24.5 million in damage to public, uninsured property, though both numbers are self-reported and will fluctuate as state assessment teams conduct their own reviews.
State officials said it will be at least another few days before they have a more accurate understanding of how many homes were affected, and whether the damages cross the threshold for Gov. Greg Abbott to request federal assistance.
Abbott last week declared a state of disaster in 13 counties affected by Imelda, including Harris, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Chambers and Montgomery.