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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Aug. 25, 2017) – Credit unions along the Gulf Coast in Texas should take precautions as Hurricane Harvey approaches, the National Credit Union Administration said today.

Hurricane Harvey is currently located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 120 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, and is travelling north-northwest at about 10 miles per hour. Harvey is currently a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of 100 miles per hour, and is projected to become a Category 3 storm, with winds perhaps as high as 125 miles per hour, by the time it makes landfall Friday night or early Saturday morning. The slow-moving storm could mean hurricane-force winds and heavy rains might affect communities for several days, with wide-spread power outages likely. Portions of the Texas Gulf Coast could receive up to 30 inches of rain.

The NCUA is watching the storm closely, and the agency will monitor the conditions of credit unions in Harvey’s path. The agency will be ready to assist credit unions with maintaining or restoring operations, if necessary. The agency maintains a hurricane and disaster information page on its website with more material on preparedness and staying safe.

Credit union members with questions may contact the NCUA’s Consumer Assistance Center at 800-755-1030 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern. The NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives can provide urgent needs grants (opens new window) of up to $7,500 to low-income credit unions that experience sudden costs to restore operations interrupted by the storm.

The National Hurricane Center has an an information page on Hurricane Harvey (opens new window), and the Federal Department of Homeland Security has an information page on being prepared for hurricanes (opens new window).

Credit union member deposits remain protected by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. Administered by the NCUA, the Share Insurance Fund insures individual accounts up to $250,000, and a member’s interest in all joint accounts combined is insured up to $250,000. The Share Insurance Fund separately protects IRA and KEOGH retirement accounts up to $250,000. The Share Insurance Fund has the backing of the full faith and credit of the United States. Members with questions about their insurance coverage can find information online at the Share Insurance Coverage (opens new window) page of the NCUA’s MyCreditUnion.gov (opens new window) website.