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A long, winding path to hurricane recovery in Houston

Oct 24, 2017
As Texans wait to for relief funds and repairs post-Hurricane Harvey, the in-between life can be frustrating.
Discarded items sit outside of a flooded home in Orange as Texas slowly moves toward recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 6, 2017.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Undocumented residents not eligible for FEMA cash payments after disasters

Oct 17, 2017
After Hurricane Harvey, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented people living in the Houston area will have to find financial relief in other ways.
Flooded homes following Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
Win McNamee / Getty Images

Why flood maps may not include areas that actually flood

Oct 12, 2017
The maps take data from past disasters and apply it to future risk, but the calculations can get tricky — and political.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey surround a home on Sept. 6, 2017, in Houston.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Houston is trying to get buyout offers to homeowners quickly

Oct 11, 2017
After hurricanes, government officials buy homes that are "hopelessly at risk" for future flooding and demolish them.
Jean Olson's home in Bellaire is one of many on her street that is inside-out. Even family heirlooms are in her front yard because her house is still uninhabitable.
Filipa Rodrigues/ for Marketplace

In Houston, small business revenue was back on track a week after Harvey

Oct 4, 2017
While rebuilding will take time, many small businesses have rebounded quickly.
Anastasia Gentles, co-founder of  NightLight, stands before the storefront of  the north Houston branch, which was flooded. She says she still has to turn customers away all the time. 
Florian Martin/ for Marketplace

Texans start getting USDA disaster food aid

Sep 22, 2017
After disasters like Harvey, the USDA offers D-SNAP, a temporary version of the program commonly called food stamps. The program offers two months of benefits to people who may not have qualified for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program before. But given the long road to recovery, many who take disaster food stamps will wind up […]

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After Harvey, the Red Cross tries to speed up relief with drones

Sep 22, 2017
The Red Cross has been using drones in Texas to help steer relief efforts to those places that need them most.
A tethered drone hovers over a pasture near Hankamer, Texas, looking for damage from Harvey. 
Travis Bubenik/ for Marketplace

The food community comes together in Houston

Sep 20, 2017
Monica Pope, a Houston chef, has seen the food community in her town unite in recent years.
Members of the Franklin Church of Christ from Franklin, Texas cook hotdogs for the congregation of the Fifth Ward Church of Christ in Houston on September 3, 2017.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Are we spending enough on disaster preparation?

Sep 15, 2017
We spend a lot of money dealing with the disaster in front of us, but what about preparing for the next one?
Floodwaters from Hurricane Irma recede September 13, 2017 in Middleburg, Florida. Flooding in town from the Black Creek topped the previous high water mark by about seven feet and water entered the second story of many homes. 
Sean Rayford/Getty Images