HOUSTON -- The Red Cross promised flood victims $400 of immediate assistance, but when it's website crashed, they couldn't deliver.
On Thursday it relaunched a section of the website, www.redcross.org, to give more people the chance to apply.
People anxiously waited in the early-morning hours for the application process to reappear, and it did shortly after 7:30 a.m.
ON THE WEB: Red Cross assistance webpage
The money is supposed to go to one person per household. If you already applied and crashed in the process, Red Cross leaders say your confirmation is coming, you don't need to reapply.
“This program is not meant for people who had homes that were completely destroyed,” said Red Cross CEO David Brady. “This program is for people who had damage and had to leave their home at some point potentially.”
The agency’s online application portal was unable to process claims for the past 10 days due to the overwhelming surge of applications.
“Technologically, it didn’t work,” said Red Cross CEO David Brady. “I know people were frustrated, we were frustrated.”
The online application page appeared to be working well and was responsive on Thursday.
The home of Bear Creek resident Stephanie Case sustained substantial damage due to the flooding. Case did not have flood insurance and is currently relying on the assistance of volunteer work crews from Pennsylvania, facilitated by Bear Creek United Methodist Church.
Case says she attempted to apply for the Red Cross emergency grant last week but it was not working.
“I guess there were so many people trying to get it,” Case said. “It said ‘please check back.’”
Every dollar counts for devastated homeowners like Case. She says she will attempt to apply for the assistance once again.
The deadline for online application submissions is October 10.
The application can be found at: redcross.org/HHIA
If you already applied for $400, @RedCross says you don't need to apply again. Confirmation email should come once site relaunches #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/ZjzPDVmvNl
— Grace White (@GraceWhiteKHOU) September 21, 2017
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