John Bogna
Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney said publicly Hurricane Harvey’s “been a disaster with very little relief.”
The statement was made Tuesday at a meeting of the Nueces County Commissioners Court, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, two cities that saw some of the worst wind and rain from Harvey, are both a part of Nueces County.
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During the meeting, Chesney said FEMA had only cleared 52 people for housing assistance and 18 for a mobile home or trailer to serve as temporary housing. According to the Houston Chronicle, over 3,000 applications for FEMA aid were submitted by Neuces County residents.
“If there is anybody out there listening that believes only 18 people are qualified after that storm and thinks that’s not a colossal screw-up by FEMA, I don’t even know how to address that,” Chesney said at the meeting. “Eighteen people — I mean, that’s absurd.”
Hundreds of people in the area gave up out of frustration with the process of applying for aid, according to the Caller-Times. Instead, they decided to try and find other accommodations on their own like staying with relatives.
A volunteer organization called Homes for Displaced Marlins has donated 33 trailers. Of the ones in the area received from FEMA, one is still being connected to electricity, one person has moved in and three more trailers are reportedly being installed.
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