Flood Damage Revealed as Waters Recede, Please Report It
5/6/2024 Part II – Flood damage to an unknown number of homes and businesses is being revealed around Lake Houston as waters recede. Most of the serious flood damage seems confined to low-lying homes around rivers and streams.
As I drove around the headwaters of Lake Houston this afternoon from Kingwood to Huffman to Porter and back, I saw plenty of those.
In this post, I will first show some of those photos.
Then I will make a special request that could help this area receive federal assistance. Filling out a simple survey for the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) could help neighbors without flood insurance. But first the photos.
Photos From Harris and Montgomery County Taken on 5/6/24
Dunnam Road, Kingwood
Submitted by Sharai Poteet.
Northwood Country Estates in Huffman
Submitted by Max Kidd.
River Club Estates, Porter
Lakeside, Kingwood
Sadly, many of the homes I photographed today had been flooded before. And they hadn’t unflooded yet. As I write this on Monday May 6 at 9 PM, the gage at US59 still records a flood level of 53 feet – 10.5 feet above the normal river level for this area. So, some homes remain underwater and inaccessible.
The worst of the flooding may be over. But the West Fork is still at the major flood stage! It should go down to the moderate flood stage on Tuesday and the minor flood stage on Wednesday.
Request from Officials to Report Flood Damage
Elected officials called me today to request assistance. They’re not certain whether there will be enough damage from this storm to qualify for a disaster declaration and Federal assistance.
So please follow these instructions to report damage if you have it.
- Go online to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
- You should be at a page that says, “Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) Damage Surveys.”
- Click on the “Spring Storms” link.
Why It’s Important
The objective of this survey is to help state and local emergency management officials across Texas identify and gain an understanding of flood damage that has occurred. If there are enough qualifying damaged structures in your county, residents of your county could qualify for Federal assistance.
Only one survey per family. And the surveys can only be filled out online. They are very simple and you should be able to do them from a phone if your laptop or desktop was destroyed. It should take no longer than five minutes if you have damage photos ready.
They give this guidance for photos.
| \✅ | Take multiple photos from different angles including close-up photos of specific points of damage and photos of the entire structure. |
| ✅ | Make sure your photos aren’t blurry or obscured. |
| ✅ | Double-check your address as well as the location pin on the in-survey map. |
| ❌ | Don’t submit reports of non-residential structures or outbuildings (barns, carports, fences, or cars). |
| ❌ | Don’t submit multiple iSTAT entries for the same residence. |
| ❌ | Don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation in order to take photos or submit an iSTAT entry. |
Reporting damages to TDEM is a voluntary activity. It is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agency, and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance.
Why You Should Take Survey Even if You Have Flood Insurance
Since Harvey, people who are uninsured and not required to have insurance may qualify for FEMA benefits. However, 500 people per county must qualify before anyone in the county gets anything.
Individuals may qualify for SBA loans, housing assistance, etc. It just depends on whether the thresholds are met. This survey is the first step in assessing needs.
As I drove around the headwaters of Lake Houston today, I saw several pockets of damage, usually close to the rivers. And I am sure more exist.
So please share this post with everyone you know to make sure all residents with qualifying damages report them to TDEM. Even if you have insurance, your neighbor may not. Beating that 500 minimum per county could help them and help your neighborhood recover faster.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/6/2024
2442 Days since Hurricane Harvey
