FEMA, locals making progress on tornado recovery
Jun. 22—It appears victims of last month's tornado strikes in Southern Cooke County are getting at least some of the help they need, according to local and federal officials.
"I think recovery in general is going well," said Ray Fletcher, who is overseeing the local response in his capacity as the county's emergency management coordinator. "The challenge of this recovery in particular is the debris management phase. And so that is challenging. The goal has been to get the debris away from the people's home site so they can rebuild or, or put a new house on their property and get the debris moved over to the ditch or the right of way or the curb, so that in the future we can go back around and pick all of that up." FEMA has staff at Valley View Elementary School from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. every day to help people. The deadline for applying is July 16, but FEMA will remain on the scene beyond that to coordinate with state and local agencies.
"Since opening, things have been running smoothly at the Cooke County Disaster Recovery Center. Our staff is eager and happy to help disaster survivors impacted by the recent storms. We want to meet them where they are in their current situation," said FEMA spokeswoman Nikki Gaskins Campbell.
"We understand the stress that comes from recovery, so our FEMA representatives at the DRC are there to help alleviate some of that stress by guiding them through the registration process and answer any questions that they might have," Campbell continued. "When people need help, they want to talk face to face and directly with a real human being who can possibly help them. This is why we have this fixed FEMA site in Cooke County."
According to Campbell, FEMA has approved $115.9 million to help 55,055 Texas households recovery from the storms. In Cooke County, FEMA has approved nearly $1.3 million to help about 400 households. It also pays for the recovery center, which provides most of the help with paperwork and access to related agencies.
"The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Valley View is an exceptionally helpful place," said Fletcher, when asked how things were going between the locals and the feds. "And so if people have any questions, they're having concerns about a claim or they've been denied or don't think it was justified, go to the Valley View Disaster Recovery Center ... FEMA's there with four or five representatives just sitting there waiting for you to come talk to 'em. The Small Business Administration is there. The VA is there. The Red Cross is there. All the assistance is right there."
Cleanup The Cooke County Commissioners Court is soliciting bids for debris removal and shipping it to landfills — an expense that could hit $2 million — according to estimates provided by Fletcher. All of the paperwork has to line up with FEMA requirements, in order for the county to recoup some, or all, of that cost.
"We have to make sure we do the process right ... request for proposals have to be published for 30 days," Fletcher explained. "The request for proposals should be (voted) on by the court Monday ... then we'll select a proposal and immediately get on with the debris pickup. And it'll go very quickly once we do that."
