Chambers County Waits For Housing, Debris Help
POSTED: Monday, September 29, 2008
UPDATED: 6:05 pm CDT September 29,
2008
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CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas -- More than two weeks after Hurricane Ike devastated Chambers County, residents are still waiting to find out how FEMA will help with everything from housing to debris pickup, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.
Hundreds Without Homes In Chambers County: Robert Arnold Reports
Officials said there are concerns that some residents still missing from the Bolivar Peninsula are buried under 52 acres of debris that washed ashore in Chambers County.Meanwhile, a relief center set up by the American Red Cross at the Oak Island Baptist Church is the only help many residents are receiving.Donations have poured in from around the country to help those who lost everything and can't go home."We have a tremendous human disaster and we're just trying to make it right for the people," said Eddie Shauberger, the pastor of Oak Island Baptist Church.An 8- to 9-foot storm surge from Trinity Bay during Hurricane Ike leveled most of Oak Island, leaving hundreds homeless. Three hundred are still living in three Red Cross shelters in Chambers County.Many depend on donations of food and clothes."We try to make things better each day for the people to give them hope," Shauberger said.Out of 350 homes on Oak Island, only 50 were not completely washed away."The federal government's been busy working on bailing out Wall Street, so they've been a little busy. But, you know, we got a lot of issues down here, too, that we need assistance with," Chambers County Judge Jimmy Silvia said.Silvia said he is still waiting on whether FEMA will give full reimbursement for debris removal. Without that money, cleanup could break the county's budget, Silvia said.Much of the debris from Smith Point comes from the Bolivar Peninsula. It brings with it the grim possibility that those missing from Bolivar are buried in debris fields."We need the resources from the state, feds, to search those debris piles. We don't have the manpower to do it or the equipment," Silvia said.Another immediate concern is housing because there are no rental properties in Chambers County. FEMA is sending trailers, but will not set up the trailers in a flood plain, which is most of the area."I don't want my people to have to go to Houston or Beaumont to move out of the area because they never come back. And they shouldn't have to," Silvia said.Mosquitoes are also a huge problem in Chambers County, even hampering search efforts.The county is spraying morning and evening, but it is barely bringing the mosquitoes down to a tolerable level.A curfew remains in effect for Chambers County from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Copyright 2008 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Hundreds Without Homes In Chambers County: Robert Arnold Reports Officials said there are concerns that some residents still missing from the Bolivar Peninsula are buried under 52 acres of debris that washed ashore in Chambers County.Meanwhile, a relief center set up by the American Red Cross at the Oak Island Baptist Church is the only help many residents are receiving.Donations have poured in from around the country to help those who lost everything and can't go home."We have a tremendous human disaster and we're just trying to make it right for the people," said Eddie Shauberger, the pastor of Oak Island Baptist Church.An 8- to 9-foot storm surge from Trinity Bay during Hurricane Ike leveled most of Oak Island, leaving hundreds homeless. Three hundred are still living in three Red Cross shelters in Chambers County.Many depend on donations of food and clothes."We try to make things better each day for the people to give them hope," Shauberger said.Out of 350 homes on Oak Island, only 50 were not completely washed away."The federal government's been busy working on bailing out Wall Street, so they've been a little busy. But, you know, we got a lot of issues down here, too, that we need assistance with," Chambers County Judge Jimmy Silvia said.Silvia said he is still waiting on whether FEMA will give full reimbursement for debris removal. Without that money, cleanup could break the county's budget, Silvia said.Much of the debris from Smith Point comes from the Bolivar Peninsula. It brings with it the grim possibility that those missing from Bolivar are buried in debris fields."We need the resources from the state, feds, to search those debris piles. We don't have the manpower to do it or the equipment," Silvia said.Another immediate concern is housing because there are no rental properties in Chambers County. FEMA is sending trailers, but will not set up the trailers in a flood plain, which is most of the area."I don't want my people to have to go to Houston or Beaumont to move out of the area because they never come back. And they shouldn't have to," Silvia said.Mosquitoes are also a huge problem in Chambers County, even hampering search efforts.The county is spraying morning and evening, but it is barely bringing the mosquitoes down to a tolerable level.A curfew remains in effect for Chambers County from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Copyright 2008 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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