One plan is to shuffle FEMA representatives from local hotels to base camps that will be set up in Port Arthur, Beaumont and other affected areas, Kevin Hannes, FEMA federal coordinating officer, said.
“We want to empty the hotels for the evacuees to use,” Hannes said.
But, as FEMA looks at long-term rebuilding, some area residents remain displaced, housed in shelters or hotels.
About half of a million people have registered with FEMA across all of the impacted areas, tens of thousands are in shelters and about 16,000 families are in hotels following the catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman said they are working on a long term housing solution for those who lost their homes and that shelters will likely be open for another three-to-four weeks.
There is currently a shelter at Thomas Jefferson Middle School housing more than 200 people in the two gyms.
Hannes asked that residents register with FEMA. There is no cost to file.