Disaster Preparedness and Response

Gov. Rick Perry today criticized the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for telling Texans “there is no compelling need to immediately approve” the state’s application for continued Hurricanes Ike and Dolly recovery funding.

“HUDs comment is an insult to every Texan whose home or business was destroyed or damaged by hurricanes Ike or Dolly,” Gov. Perry said. “Hurricane Ike was the costliest storm in history to strike Texas, and this process should not stand in the way of assistance for disaster victims.”

The comment came in a letter from Assistant HUD Secretary Mercedes Marquez rejecting the state's application for the second round of funding for Hurricanes Ike and Dolly recovery. Texas received $1.3 billion in Round One funding and was slated to receive $1.7 billion in Round Two.

In rejecting the state’s application for a second allotment of hurricane recovery funds, HUD faulted the state plan for not specifying how it would distribute funding to units of local government, despite the 67-page plan’s detailed description of the formula used for allocating funds to Councils of Government (COGs).

“Clearly, it is lost on HUD officials that COGs are units of local government under Texas law, and the plan the state submitted discussed the COGs’ role,” Gov. Perry said. “Like other agencies in Washington these days, HUD overlooks the important role local governments play in formulating recovery efforts."

HUD also faults the state plan because COGs have not yet held public hearings. However, these concerns were never relayed to the state when HUD approved Round One funding for Texas in March 2009, or when it approved funding for Hurricane Rita recovery.

Gov. Perry said federal officials are playing politics with the funding decision because the letter from Marquez attempts to impose new policies and requirements that were never specified in guidelines on the Ike funding published in the Federal Register. For example, HUD criticizes the state for not providing “reasonable public notice,” although Texas officials hosted eight public hearings to help formulate the post-Ike recovery funding application.

HUD’s criticism also contradicts the citizen participation waiver notice in the Federal Register that “removes the requirement at both the grantee and state grant recipient levels for public hearings or meetings as the method for dissemination of information or collecting citizen comment.”

HUD also raised concerns about the state’s proposal to use some funds for projects that focus on mitigation of future disasters rather than “core recovery needs.” Again, HUDs criticism contradicts federal guidelines that encourage the state to undertake such projects to draw down additional federal dollars from the Disaster Recovery Enhancement Fund.

HUD’s letter requires Texas to submit a revised plan within 45 days, but imposes additional public hearing requirements and the development of new fair housing plans that HUD admits will take months to complete.

“The request that Texas update its fair housing plan would delay recovery, especially since the federal guidance that Texas will use to update its fair housing practices is not expected to be published before February 2010,” Gov. Perry said. “Unless this is resolved soon, it will be Texans who will ultimately bear the brunt of the costs for recovery. Therefore, I also urge our Congressional delegation to make it clear to HUD that we will not stand for weeks and months of further delay. ”

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today announced the state has provided $8.6 million to Bridge City Independent School District to assist in the construction of a new elementary school campus, replacing two schools badly damaged by Hurricane Ike. These funds are part of House Bill 4586, appropriated to the Trusteed Programs in the Office of the Governor as additional funding beyond the general disaster relief provisions of HB 4102.

“This community was hit hard by Ike a year ago, and I want these students, teachers and parents to know the rest of Texas is standing with them as Bridge City rebuilds,” Gov. Perry said. “We look forward to cutting the ribbon on a new school, one that will ably serve its mission of preparing our young people for the challenges of the future.”

Sims Elementary and Hatton Elementary were decimated by Ike’s storm surge, which flooded the entire Bridge City area. During the storm, Sims was under 4 feet of water, while Hatton held 2 feet of water. The schools are also both aging and do not meet several current codes and standards, making it more cost effective to build a new school, rather than simply rebuilding.

The state amount covers a shortfall between what insurance and FEMA will pay to construct a new school. Total construction costs are estimated at $20.7 million.

“I am grateful to Governor Perry for working with the South East Texas delegation and the community of Bridge City to secure this needed funding,” Sen. Tommy Williams said. “These dollars will help ensure the children of Bridge City will have a safe learning environment and help them to return to their normal lives after experiencing the devastation of Hurricane Ike.”

“These funds are important to the Bridge City community, giving parents peace of mind that their children will have a safe and productive learning environment while at school,” Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton said. “During these difficult times, I am extremely pleased that these schools will be rebuilt without raising taxes or needing any additional bond revenue.”

The Texas Education Agency has opened a second HB 4102 application process period. Districts were previously only able to apply for funds relating to qualifying unreimbursed physical damage. Now, districts can also apply for funding to replace revenue lost related to declining property values or lost enrollment due to disaster.

What happened when Hurricane Ike tore into the Texas coast is best known as a story of loss and tragedy, but it is also an ongoing tale of courage and dedication, caring and commitment.

A year after Ike, the resilience of Texans is on display in rebuilt homes and community centers, reopened businesses and restaurants, all measured in miles of blacktop and across spans of bridges reconnecting people with the mainland.

People continue to pitch in as a sense of normalcy has returned. And yet, still, nothing is exactly the same. Nothing ever will be.

Ike was that kind of monster.

In the early hours of Sept. 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike exploded across the area, turning residents out of their homes while rapidly and viciously redrawing the coast of Texas with a haphazard hand.

Despite how awful it was, however, it could have been even worse. Texas has seen its fair share of bad storms over the years, and the lessons we've learned helped us improve our response time, and more quickly and efficiently move people to safety, provide shelter and distribute much-needed food and water.

Those lessons were all called into play as Ike roared into the Gulf. An unpredictable force even as it closed in on land, its projected path changed five times in the 30 hours before it finally came ashore, with targets ranging from the Rio Grande Valley all the way to the Louisiana border.

For a state that puts a premium on strategically positioning its resources at the point of attack, Ike worked us pretty hard. Nonetheless, by the time Ike had zeroed in on the Galveston area, we had search-and-rescue teams in place, ready to help. In the darkest hours of the night, as the worst of the storm made its way ashore, 634 Texans were plucked from the most imperiled areas. Those 634 people almost assuredly would have perished without the intervention of brave men and women willing to risk their own lives for their fellow Texans.

It was an amazing display of the best of the human spirit, and I continue to marvel at the dedication of these fine individuals. Over the course of the storm, our first responders, including Texas Task Forces 1 and 2, as well as Texas Military Forces, rescued 3,540 people and conducted welfare checks on nearly 6,000 other citizens in the impacted area.

As we've come to expect, they performed amazing jobs under the most difficult of circumstances.

As the storm moved in and then moved on, we shifted our focus from search and rescue to caring and comfort. Across the state, in a display of the proud Texas tradition of “neighbor helping neighbor,” 305 shelters took in 51,000 Texans. As workers labored around the clock to restore basic utilities to afflicted areas, we distributed nearly a million ready-to-eat meals, more than 26 million bottles of water and more than 50 million pounds of ice.

Not to suggest there weren't challenges, but I'm proud of the efforts we put forward in the aftermath of the storm.

However, discussions about what worked in the wake of a disaster go only so far in consoling those who lost their homes, priceless heirlooms, a cherished pet or a loved one. We owe it to all Texans to continue improving the system.

To that end, we've initiated changes, ranging from the creation of state resource staging areas to the streamlining of our command structure. We've enhanced our continuous training and exercise programs; reviewed our system for distributing food and water; consolidated communications; and expanded the use of new technology, such as GPS tracking, to manage key resources.

The 81st Legislature funded much-needed repairs to schools afflicted by the storm and also gave the state leeway in funding of school districts disrupted by future storms. It also responded to my call to improve the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, passing a bill that incorporates sound business practices and broadens the association's options to pay for incurred losses, keeping insurance coverage available to Texans living along the coast.

In all, the Legislature allocated more than $425 million to rebuilding areas of Texas touched by disaster. Of this amount, $150 million was dedicated to getting the University of Texas Medical Branch and its critical trauma center back up and running. A $62 million disaster fund will enable us to respond even more quickly in the future.

Currently, agencies like the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Department of Rural Affairs and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs are working with local authorities in affected areas, distributing federal funding to restore devastated communities.

Ike will never be forgotten, but neither will the bravery and dedication of the proud people of Texas.

Perry, a Republican, is governor of Texas.

Residents in the Texas Hill Country had to evacuate their homes Friday as rising water from nearby creeks began to flood.

Salado Mayor Merle Stalcup said on KXXV-TV that he expected 50 to 60 families would have to evacuate if rain didn't stop falling. More than 10 inches of rain have fallen since Thursday and 20 families have evacuated to a local church so far.

A flash flood warning will be in effect for Salado and the rest of Bell County until Friday night. Salado is about 45 miles northwest of Austin.

Gov. Rick Perry's office announced late Friday that state and National Guard troops would be deployed to the Interstate 35 corridor.

At least 70 troops, four helicopters and four swift water rescue teams will be on standby until Saturday morning, Perry's office said in an online statement.

Forecasters for the National Weather Service say the rest of the state can expect rain this weekend. A 70 to 80 percent chance of rain was forecast around Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Saturday, while the El Paso area had a 30 percent chance of rain.