HOUSTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Thursday the approval of a 15.25 billion-U.S. dollars fund in the Senate demonstrated their support to Texas.
"The response by the federal government has been swift and effective, and the passage of a bill allocating an initial down payment for recovery and rebuilding is a continuation of their assurances to stand firm with Texas," said Abbott, in a statement after the U.S. Senate voted to allocate the fund to Texas for the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25, as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, has displaced more than 1 million people and damaged some 200,000 homes in a path of destruction that stretches for more than 300 miles (about 480 km). And the Houston area has been devastated by severe flooding, after receiving about 1.4 meters of rain.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it is working to accelerate buyouts of repeatedly flooded properties in Houston area.
The buyouts following Hurricane Harvey aimed at helping Houstonians escape from perennially soggy neighborhoods and keeping the federal government from paying to rebuild homes time and time again.
FEMA is receiving thousands of Harvey claims and paying out millions of dollars every day. By the end of Wednesday, more than 80,000 Texans had filed claims and FEMA had issued about 76 million U.S. dollars in advance payments.
Harris County, where Houston is located, has already bought out more homeowners than any other county in the country with spending 225 million dollars in purchases over the last 20 years, according to FEMA.
