• Recovering from disaster – This downloadable FEMA guide will help you return home, cope and help others. Learn about safety, health and mental well-being after a disaster.
• Reentering your flooded home – Take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

• Structural elements
• Utility services
• How to choose a generator
• Mold remediation guide

• Supply list – See what items you’ll need to start cleaning up.
• Disaster recovery – Find guides, videos, resource links, and even an app from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that can help you recover and rebuild a healthy home.
• Dealing with debris and damaged buildings – Learn how to safely handle different hazards from the Environmental Protection Agency. This may include structurally unsound buildings and chemical spills.
• Flood cleanup and the air in your home – Learn how to properly clean up after a flood and about air quality, as well as mold hazards.
• Salvaging important documents – Get guidelines to care for documents, books, photos and more.

For questions about debris removal within the City of Houston, please contact 3-1-1.

• Keep this contractor fraud checklist and avoiding contractor fraud guide handy.
• Get several written bids or estimates from multiple contractors.
• Estimates should include a complete description of work to be done with time and payment schedules.
• Ensure that you use reputable companies that you know and trust.
• Ask for references and confirm by calling them.
• Check the Better Business Bureau.
• Check the courthouse for criminal history and civil cases against the contractor.
• Do not begin any work without confirming that the contractor is bonded and insured.
• Get a contract in writing with details of work to be done and pricing.
• Confirm that the contractor has received proper permits from the city and or neighborhood association before work begins.
• Do not pay for the entire job upfront.
• It is against the law for contractors in disaster areas to take any money upfront unless they have had a local office in your county or one county over for at least one year.
• Insist on paying the full amount until after the work is completed.
• Do not pay in cash.
• Report bad contractors, price gouging, and scams to:
  • Better Business Bureau
  • Texas Attorney General or call 1-800-621-0508