Thousands of families still waiting for Hurricane Rita relief# Rita was the ninth-costliest hurricane in U.S. history, according to FEMA
# Texas has distributed $1.1 million of $500 million in federal hurricane relief
# State officials: Bulk of federal money wasn't received until April 2007
# Audit shows 13 of 4,300 applicants received homes as of September
Hurricane Rita slammed into the Texas and Louisiana coast on September 24, 2005, destroying thousands of properties and causing an estimated $9.4 billion in damages -- making it the ninth-costliest storm in U.S. history, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Officials with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs told CNN the federal government didn't send the bulk of the money to Texas until April of this year.
However, the state received $43 million in May 2006 and has only spent $1.1 million of that money. According to the audit, the largest portion of those funds was spent on administration.
The same audit shows 13 of the 4,300 applicants received homes as of September 2007.
Some residents who lost their homes said they won't find out if they qualify for aid money until spring 2008. - CNN
