AUSTIN –FEMA has activated Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) for Texans displaced by recent storms in Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties.
Residents in these counties who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible to stay temporarily in a hotel or motel paid for by FEMA. Applicants do not need to request this assistance. FEMA will notify them of their eligibility through an automated phone call, text message, and/or email, depending upon the method of communication they selected at the time of application for disaster assistance.
Applicants may be eligible if they cannot return to their disaster-damaged home and their housing needs cannot be met by insurance, shelters or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency.
Under the TSA program, FEMA pays the cost of room, taxes and non-refundable pet fees directly to participating hotels and motels. Pet fees will only be paid up to the approved limit of assistance for individual rooms. Survivors are responsible for all other costs, including laundry, restaurant/room service, parking, telephone, or movie rental.
Continued eligibility is determined on an individual basis. When eligibility ends, survivors will be notified by FEMA seven days prior to checkout date.
TSA is limited to participating hotels and motels in Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties or the counties that border them. This includes participating hotels in Angelina, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Houston, Jefferson, Madison, Tyler and Waller counties. Applicants must find a hotel by visiting femaemergencyhotels.com/ and entering their FEMA registration number.
TSA participants may also be eligible for other FEMA financial help, including Displacement Assistance, Rental Assistance, Home Repair Assistance and other aspects of the Individual Assistance program.
To apply for FEMA assistance, homeowners and renters can:
- Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
- Download the FEMA App for mobile devices
- Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
- Visit any Disaster Recovery Center. For locations and hours, go online to fema.gov/drc.
For the latest information on Texans’ recovery from the storms that began April 26, visit fema.gov/disaster/4781. Follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.
To view an accessible video about how to apply visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.
