Local officials criticize U.S. government for little Hurricane Harvey relief

HOUSTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Officials representing one of the most hurricane-devastated areas in the U.S. state of Texas criticized the government for providing too little relief, local media reported Tuesday.

Official from the Nueces County, which borders the Gulf of Mexico, tore into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Hurricane Harvey relief on a meeting at the county courthouse, local newspaper the Corpus Christi Caller-Times said.

"It's been a disaster with very little relief," the paper quoted county commissioner Brent Chesney as saying.

Nueces County includes Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, two cities which faced some of Hurricane Harvey's worst winds and rainfall earlier this year.

So far, 52 people in the county are qualified for direct housing assistance from the FEMA. Of those, 18 are qualified for either a mobile housing or a travel trailer for temporary settlement.

A report by a local health foundation released in November found the FEMA had received some 3,500 applications for housing assistance from Nueces County residents.

"If there is anybody out there listening that believes only 18 people are qualified after that storm and thinks that's not a colossal screw-up by the FEMA, I don't even know how to address that," Chesney said.

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a disaster aid package of 81 billion dollars to help hurricane-ravaged communities and states hit by wildfires.

The U.S. Congress in September approved 7.4 billion dollars in Harvey aid for Texas.

Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, damaging nearly 200,000 homes. Enditem