JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — FEMA staff will start going door-to-door in Jefferson County Saturday morning.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel will start assessments with crews from Jefferson County Road and Bridge to determine if Jefferson County qualifies for individual assistance for Tropical Storm Imelda, County Judge Jeff Branick said.
The assessments were originally scheduled to begin Friday, Sept. 27, but are now expected to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.
FEMA said they can assess about 100 homes a day, Branick said, but there are 3,515 damaged homes in the unincorporated areas of the county, about 1,950 damaged homes in the city of Beaumont and 150 damaged homes in Nederland, Branick said.
The assessments will take some time, Branick said. The county has already done a preliminary damage assessment of these flooded homes and believes the damage will meet FEMA's specifications, he said.
800 homes are usually needed as a general rule of thumb in the 13-county-disaster area, but other factors such as socioeconomic status are being assessed, Branick said.
Jefferson County has given FEMA all of the date collected through Crisisware software, which gives FEMA the addresses and information needed to complete federal assessments, Branick said.
Around 1,700 claims were filed in the National Flood Insurance Program in Jefferson County, Branick said. This includes both homes and businesses combined that have flood insurance and filed a claim.
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