I have been looking for news on how the cleanup is progressing in Houston, read this to find out.

  I wrote a blog addressing flood insurance about one month ago, one of the points I made was that this subject would be front page news in very short order. The first lawsuits in Houston are being filed, against the lender. A person who bought a new home was advised by Chase Bank (allegedly as far as I know), that the home he was purchasing did not require flood insurance because it is not in the 100-year floodplain. During Hurricane Harvey his home was flooded with 3 feet of water, he claims the bank's lending officer was not qualified to make insurance recommendations. To make matters worse for the bank, the claimant is a lawyer that really performed his due diligence. Apparently, he had an insurance package and presented it to his lender, after looking at his package the bank employee suggested that because it wasn't in a Federally designated flood zone, the 100-year floodplain, he did not need flood insurance. Wow, this is going to prove interesting for sure, I'm not a lawyer or a bank employee, however, it sure looks like he may have a good case, time will tell. I will try to keep up with this case and write a blog on it in several years when it will most likely be settled. His home suffered $200,000.00 of damage, he is seeking money to repair his home, punitive damages, and actual unspecified damages as well. The home owner's final statement was to the effect of, All was destroyed in my house, people who are not insurance specialist should not be advising people on flood insurance. If this lawsuit is won, we can expect a lot more of them, this homeowner may have a point. Find out if your home is in a flood zone according to FEMA click here.
  I have been looking for news on how the cleanup is progressing in Houston, I read the Houston Chronical, I don't read anything into it, I'm not there the reporters are and I take their word for what it is.

This is an old Google Image photo, however, some areas still await
Debris removal.

  After a month the cleanup continues, more rapidly than I was expecting, there is a lot of debris piled still in some areas, the haulers are getting to all of it. After such an unprecedented storm, they have had several over the past few years, many people are still displaced. More than 1300 people are still in shelters, many lives are on hold while awaiting FEMA to process their applications for assistance to enable them to gain permanent housing. Displaced people are living in motels and hotels paid for by FEMA, they number more than 60,000 hoping they will be able to put their lives back together and return to normal.
  Aransas County, a coastal county, suffered destruction of 35% of its buildings after the Hurricane passed, the people got to work and according to County Judge Burt Mills Jr. "Every day it gets a little bit better". It's hard to beat the American Spirit.
  In Houston many people were rescued during and after the storm, now a month later traffic is moving again and the schools are opened. The piles of debris still line some of the neighborhoods that were in the hardest hit areas, a stark reminder of Harvey's strength and destruction. Some parents are keeping their children away from their homes while being rebuilt, they do not want to let them be disturbed by the sight of everything they own piled up in rubbish heaps. That's understandable, I would do the same if my children were small, but if they are over 12 buddy, grab a shovel. 176,000 homes are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged, with at least 136,000 other homes and structures were damaged. Just in Houston and the surrounding suburbs, the estimate is 200-300 million cubic yards of ruined household furnishings, sheetrock, and everything else from garages, basements, and sheds. It doesn't take very much of this stuff to fill a truck, it's bulky and takes up a massive amount of space, but being hauled off it is. The public authorities estimate it will take several months to remove it all. I guess my idea to burn it in place is not a viable solution, I would bet I'm not the only one to think of that, it's a good decision, I am sure they don't need a shroud of smoke hanging over them. It's truly a task of biblical proportions. Take a look at FEMA's application for assistance link.
  FEMA is processing 834,000 applications for assistance, more than 298,000 have been OK'd so far, what do you think, 300,000 processed in a month, about 10,000 a day, I think that's pretty impressive. This task will take several months as well to complete. Many people who have lost everything are wiped out financially, most waiting for help, many are disabled. It's a slow process, local authorities are stressing patience. In a survey of business, executives said they expect losses from Harvey to continue for the next 6 months or so. Some of the coastal communities rely on tourism, getting hotels, motels, and restaurants up to speed is an important ingredient in recovering, without the tourist the economy is sunk.

Tourism is big and important in Texas.

  The recovery is continuing, in fact, some Cities, Beaumont had 2,000 homes flood, the mayor Becky Ames said recovery is going well and they are now focused on being a "good neighbor" and helping smaller cities hit hard by Harvey, the small cities have fewer resources and need the help.
  The decision makers in Houston are working on plans to build and finance improvements to lessen damage from future storms. Widening of bayous and flood basins are part of the planning, people are wondering if they will be able to rebuild where they are or be relocated due to some of these projects. After the massive flooding suffered in 2005 Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana officials rewrote the building codes. In Beaumont 65 million dollars was spent on a drainage project after Hurricane Ike in 2008, it saved a lot of homes, as stated above 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in that community. The mayor of Houston commented, "The one thing we do know is there will be another storm."
  Yes indeed there will be more storms, not only in Texas, Louisianna, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Florida, the entire world suffers storms, these will not be the last ones to occur in our sphere of influence as a nation. We had better bounce back as rapidly as possible, it appears from the outside that's what's happening in Texas. We know how Puerto Rico's recovery is going, (good grief), my next blog will be on the recover Florida is going through. I will then return to Puerto Rico for as much as I can uncover, then Mexico and their earthquakes. Let's all hope there will not be another disaster for a while at least.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, leave a comment, how do you think the recovery is progressing?
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com