ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — If your home was damaged by Hurricane Laura, you're probably wondering - where's FEMA?
For now, Hurricane Laura's aftermath hasn't prompted a federal disaster declaration.
To qualify, 800 uninsured homes in Texas have to be damaged.
Orange County Judge John Gothia says the state is at 600 homes now.
"The key is uninsured damages. This was totally different from a flood event where the majority of our folks don't have flood insurance, but in this storm event the majority of our folks have home owner's insurance and those don't count. That's the situation it puts us in. It makes us harder to reach that number," Gothia said.
That's for individual assistance. That's a separate kind of help than what's called 'public assistance.'
That's what counties and cities use for debris pick up, how they're reimbursed.
"It looks like we're going to be close to that number," Gothia said.
He says the state has met the $38.4 million threshold to qualify for public assistance. That money wouldn't go directly to home or business owners.
So far, individual assistance has been approved for 6 Louisiana parishes.
There's still time for Texas to qualify, as FEMA crews are in the area. They're tallying up damages to see if the president needs to declare Laura a federal disaster.
The state is also in the process of assessing damages, so self-reporting is important. To help the state see where the most damage is, fill out the survey.