Topeka ? Lawmakers working with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius are fashioning a plan to help flood victims in southeast Kansas. A key component will be relief for those who lost their homes, Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt said Tuesday.

Legislators would consider the plan when their session begins in January.

“I think a relief package is going to need to be a priority. What will be in it, we don’t know. The housing piece will be a centerpiece,” Schmidt said. “The region needs help; it’s that simple.”

The Republican from Independence said he and other legislators are collaborating with the Democratic administration and don’t know whether the package will be in one or more bills.

“We’re trying to get all the good ideas on the table,” he said.

Heavy rains soaked southeast Kansas earlier this month, causing flooding in 23 counties. Emergency management officials say they are still assessing the damage to get a preliminary dollar estimate, expected to be in the millions.

So far, officials have identified 864 homes as destroyed and more than 3,700 others as damaged, said Sharon Watson, Kansas Emergency Management spokeswoman.

She said $11.8 million in federal disaster relief has been parceled to individuals, with $9.6 million of that for housing.

Schmidt said the problem is that houses will have to be demolished in an area where there’s already a housing shortage.

“For the long-term health of the region, housing is a make-or-break issue because it determines whether the region can sustain a work force, which determines whether there is an economic base,” Schmidt said.

His comments came the day after seven department chiefs met with residents and officials in Coffeyville, Neodesha, Chanute and Osawatomie. Labor Secretary Jim Garner is the coordinator for the various agencies in the flood recovery.