Email (excerpted), Brittany Eck, press secretary, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Dec. 4, 2017

5:03 p.m.

The Texas General Land Office has been working closely with Gordon Wells, Ph.D., a Research Associate with the Center for Space Research at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Wells was embedded with the GLO for hurricane response at the State Operations Center run by the Texas Department of Emergency Management. Dr. Wells was the source who initially provided the GLO with the number of at least one million homes damaged.

...

Dr. Wells’ analysis is also supported by the numbers we have received through the FEMA disaster assistance filings. As of the deadline for applications, 893,997 households applied for assistance from FEMA. Additionally, 90,622 policyholders have filed flood-insurance claims in Texas. These numbers do not include those who only filed private insurance claims (not for assistance through the FEMA disaster assistance programs), nor does it include those with minimal damage that they were able to fix without filing for insurance or FEMA assistance.

Thanks so much.

Sincerely, Brittany

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Brittany Eck, Press Secretary

Commissioner George P. Bush, Texas General Land Office