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The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed $7.9 billion in Hurricane Harvey disaster relief as warring Republicans and Democrats united behind help for victims of that storm, as an ever more powerful new hurricane bore down on Florida. The 419-3 vote sent the aid package - likely the first of several - to the Senate in hopes of sending the bill to President Donald Trump before dwindling federal disaster reserves run out at the end of this week.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is ramping up preparations for Hurricane Irma as it barrels toward the Florida coast, even as the agency continues the massive recovery effort in storm-battered Texas. The roughly $1 billion left in FEMA's Emergency Response Fund is expected to run out as soon as the end of the week, just as Category 5 Irma could be pounding Florida and less than two weeks after Hurricane Harvey caused massive flooding in Houston.
Congressman Blake Farenthold supported the funding and said FEMA would have run out of money this week and is glad the bill was passed. "This will primarily be used for emergency individual assistance and the things that FEMA is doing right now," Farenthold said by phone Wednesday.
This Jan. 24, 2017 file photo shows Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. in Capitol Hill, Washington Among the federal agencies looking to help the city bounce back is the Department of Health and Human Services, which is doing everything from to helping run pop-up hospital units to moving patients from the storm's path.
In this Sept. 5, 2017, photo, a worker walks past a pile of debris outside a business damaged by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Spring, Texas.
As Hurricane Irma barreled toward the Caribbean on Tuesday -- on a path that could send the Category 5 megastorm toward Florida -- people up and down the state were starting to prepare for the worst. President Trump declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which allows for the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts there.
4, 2017, satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Irma nearing the eastern Caribbean. Hurricane Irma grew into a powerful Category 4 storm Monday.
Graphic shows location of federal superfund sites around Houston, including flooded sites; updates with newly observed site; 3c x 4 inches; 146 mm x 101 mm; . Mariko Shimmi, right, helps carry items out of the home of Ken Tani in a neighborhood still flooded from Harvey on Monday, Sept.
The Hurricane Harvey death toll has risen to more than 60 people, as cleanup efforts and disaster relief attempts continue to progress in southeast Texas. Many Houston residents who had been in shelters for the past week are beginning to come out to assess the damage and chart their way forward.
FEMA is warning everyone about a job scam that appears too good to be true. The scammers wrote the agency was looking for 1,000 workers and was willing to pay them $2,000 a week for 90 days.
"Now is a good time to make sure your outside things are secured and check to see if you have any hanging limbs, dead limbs, debris of any kind that needs to be taken care of. Get your supplies and let's get ready," reads a 10 a.m. post from the Liberty County Emergency Management Agency Facebook page.
The National Hurricane Center said at 0300 GMT that the storm was packing top sustained winds of 140 mph . "Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours," the NHC warned.
A man whose cellphone was wrecked by floodwater is staying at a convention center, waiting for government offices to reopen Tuesday. While the number of evacuees seeking refuge in Houston's emergency shelters has dwindled, many thousands of people are still in dire need of housing.
While the number of evacuees seeking refuge in Houston's emergency shelters dwindled 10 days after Harvey struck, many people who had left by Monday still faced dire housing needs.
The federal flood insurance program is on a course to continue falling deeper in debt, even when there is no catastrophic storm like Katrina or Harvey. The National Flood Insurance Program is currently on a path that will lead to a shortfall of $1.4 billion because its method for setting premiums has underestimated how much its claims will cost by about $1.1 billion and also because legislated surcharges are about $300 million shy of what's needed to cover premium discounts given to certain properties, according to the Congressional Budget Office report, National Flood Insurance Program Financial Soundness and Affordability .
While the number of evacuees seeking refuge in Houston's emergency shelters dwindled 10 days after Harvey struck, many people who had left by Monday still faced dire housing needs. Some returned to public housing complexes inundated with sewage and mud.
Victoria's city and county officials agree: Much more remains to be done after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the city's homes and businesses. On Monday evening, local, state and federal officials met in Victoria's emergency operations center to discuss the city's road to recovery.
FEMA spokeswoman Tiana Suber says if those people's homes are found to be uninhabitable or inaccessible for an extended time, they may qualify for the agency's Transitional Shelter Assistance. Some will qualify for short-term hotel lodging at FEMA expense, while others will be referred to local agencies or voluntary organizations for possible assistance.