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Friday, June 9, 2006 marked the five-year
anniversary of a federal disaster declaration
for flooding that inundated Houston
and other southeast Texas cities and
towns. Rains from Tropical Storm Allison
began falling on Tuesday, June 5, 2001.
On the morning of Wednesday, June 6,
Allison weakened to a tropical depression
and had moved as far north as Lufkin.
Parts of Harris County received another
11 inches of rain on Thursday, June
7.
Heavy rains began late in the afternoon
of Friday, June 8. By midnight, there
was extensive flooding in Harris County
and it was still raining. Before dawn
on Saturday, June 9, an estimated 40,000
homes were flooded. By noon, President
George Bush had issued a disaster declaration
for 28 counties. Eventually 31 counties
were included in the disaster declaration.
Some parts of Harris County received
38 inches of rain before it stopped
and Tropical Storm Allison drifted back
out into the Gulf of Mexico and away
from Texas.
"Allison reminds us that it does
not take a major hurricane to cause
billions of dollars in damage and affect
thousands of people," said William
E. Peterson, FEMA Regional Director.
"Hurricane preparedness is not
just for those living on the coast.
Families, businesses and communities
far inland need to prepare for flooding
and tornadoes that often accompany tropical
storms and hurricanes."
Assistance to individuals amounted
to over $400 million:
$200,490,387 Individual and Family
Grants (Now called Individual and Households
Program)
$197,649,013 Housing Assistance
$1,255,856 Disaster Unemployment Assistance
$2,752,803 Crisis Counseling
Local and state governments received
assistance as well:
Assistance to state and local governments
to repair damaged infrastructure, remove
debris and to pay for emergency and
protective measures amounted to $494,678,681.
Hazard Mitigation grants to lessen the
severity of future flooding totaled
$219,810,048.
Floods affect more lives and damage
more property than any other natural
disaster. Information on flood risks
and flood insurance is available at
www.floodsmart.gov.
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