More than $750 million in FEMA loans approved after Hurricane Beryl as deadline approaches – Houston Public Media

David Smith

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $750 million in financial assistance loans for nearly 700,000 Texas households affected by Hurricane Beryl, according to the agency.

The deadline to apply for federal assistance from the agency is fast approaching and Texans affected by the deadly storm have until Oct. 10 to request aid. The deadline to apply for a Small Business Administration disaster loan is also Oct. 10.

Residents in 22 counties across the state affected by Hurricane Beryl have received loans from the agency.

Hundreds of people in the Houston area were rescued after widespread storms left some residents flooded out of their homes. Hurricane Beryl left at least 42 people in the Houston area dead.

The agency has approved more than $21 million in individual assistance loans for Houston-area residents affected by the flooding. The agency helped more than 26,000 families staying in hotels until they could return to their homes.

More than 3,000 households and 8,800 people who were affected by Hurricane Beryl are currently staying temporarily in 670 hotels, according to the agency.

Several disaster recovery centers opened up after the storm to assist residents interested in applying for funding. Many of those centers in the Houston area have shuttered as the deadline for loan applications approaches.

Homeowners and renters in the following counties can apply for FEMA assistance for uninsured losses from Hurricane Beryl:

• Austin
• Bowie
• Brazoria
• Chambers
• Fort Bend
• Galveston
• Harris
• Jackson
• Jasper
• Jefferson
• Liberty
• Matagorda
• Montgomery
• Nacogdoches
• Orange
• Polk
• San Jacinto
• Shelby
• Trinity
• Walker
• Waller
• Wharton

People can apply for assistance online at disasterassistance.gov, the FEMA app or hotline, or by visiting one of the FEMA disaster recovery centers that are still open. There are currently eight disaster recovery centers open in Houston.

The online application process is available in English and Spanish.

Those applying for assistance can save their progress and come back later to finish the application, according to the webpage. Applicants are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible.

For residents visiting disaster centers in person, appointments are not needed.

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“Some people may find going online or on the phone a little difficult to work through the application process,” FEMA spokesperson Lenisha Smith said in May.

“Maybe they have a harder time understanding what the questions are asking,” she said. “So coming in and sitting down with someone makes it a lot easier for them to work through that process.”

More than 53,000 people have already visited the centers to receive assistance when applying for Beryl loans.

The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, private nonprofit organizations and businesses of any size.

The Small Business Administration has approved $331 million in loans.