HOUSTON, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Sunday opened its first Disaster Recovery Center in downtown Houston.
The agency is working to identify locations for additional centers, where residents affected by Tropical Storm Harvey can apply for aid, ask questions or solve problems, said agency spokesman Peter Herrick Jr.
FEMA has received more than 507,000 applications for aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and it has approved 114.7 million U.S. dollars in aid to 161,000 people so far, including for assistance with housing, paying for transportation, as well as medical and dental assistance.
In a Sunday morning update, FEMA officials said President Donald Trump's approval of disaster assistance authorized the federal government to pick up 90 percent of the cost of debris removal.
According to the American Red Cross, by Saturday night, at least 32,399 people sought refuge in 226 Red Cross and partner shelters across Texas overnight.
On Saturday, local officials announced that there was no more uncontrolled discharge of floodwater from two reservoirs west of Houston, showing the flooding in those still inundated neighborhoods was decreasing.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25 along the Gulf of Mexico and later downgraded to a tropical storm. The heavy rainfall brought by Harvey inundated Houston area, leaving more than 40 people dead.
