Corps of Engineers Brings Good News for Homeowners, Blue Roofs Are on Their Way.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Hurricane Rita will soon have another visual identifier, as familiar blue plastic coverings begin to appear on the roofs of damaged structures. Another clear sign that a hurricane has come ashore in Texas.

Hurricane Rita has left an estimated 20,000 Texas Gulf Coast structures in need of some sort of roofing assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has assigned the Operation Blue Roof mission to the Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although support will come from Corps offices throughout the nation.

Operation Blue Roof is a priority mission managed by the Corps. The program provides assistance to storm victims in disaster areas through the installation of rolled plastic sheeting on damaged roofs, thereby helping to protect property and allowing residents to remain in their homes. Early estimates indicate that roofing teams and contract partners will be required to place about 2.2 square miles of blue plastic roofing over Texas structures to fulfill mission requirements.

Beginning at 2 p.m. today, Texas Gulf Coast residents in the counties of Angelina, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Hardin, Liberty, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler and Walker can sign up for the Blue Roof Program at the following disaster recovery centers:

Orange County

    Luby's Cafeteria Parking Lot
    4040 Lutcher
    IH 10 and FM 3247
    Orange, TX 77632

    Jefferson County

    Parkdale Mall
    6155 Eastex Freeway
    Beaumont, TX 77706

    SE Texas Regional Airport
    Entrance at corner of 1st and Jerry Ware Drive
    Beaumont/Port Arthur

    Galveston County

    County Annex
    960 Noble Carl Drive
    Crystal Beach, TX 77650

    Chambers County

    1700 Main Street
    Ft. Anahuac Park (behind American Legion)
    Anahuac, TX

Additional counties may be added as the need is expressed by county officials and additional team members arrive from our national emergency response group. Updated information on Blue Roof signup stations will be provided through local media and disaster recovery outlets and on our 1-888-ROOF-BLU hotline.

Texas residents or their agents (a designated relative, friend or neighbor) may file in any county where there is an active signup center, regardless of county of residence, as long as the county where the structure is located qualifies for the program.

Anyone seeking a temporary blue roof will be required to sign a right-of-entry form which allows a Corps representative to come onto their property in order to assess the structure and assign the job to the contracted roofing team. Disaster experience has proven that it is more efficient for residents to come to a service center rather than have limited disaster workers go door-to-door when only 10 percent of homeowners will actually be in the home.

Corps roofing team members will go to properties to do damage and eligibility assessments, and give the roofing contractor a task order. Blue roofs will only be installed on residential structures that do not have a flat roof, are structurally sound and have not sustained more than 50 percent damage to the structure.

Residents should know that this temporary covering is completely free of charge. Corps roofing team members will have proper identification and uniforms. Citizens should not hesitate to ask persons approaching their property for proper identification.

Hours of operation are generally from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For areas with an active curfew, the center will close one hour before the beginning of the curfew. No one will be turned away who is already in line at closing time. For additional information on Operation Blue Roof, call the toll-free hotline number at 1-888-ROOF-BLU.