Governor Abbott Announces Additional Federal Disaster Assistance Following July Storms And Flooding

Governor Abbott Announces Additional Federal DisasterAssistance Following July Storms And Flooding

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the federalgovernment has approved Texas' appeal for Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) Individual Assistance program funding following severe storms andflooding that impacted communities across the state in July.

The approval comes after an announcement from PresidentDonald J. Trump this week, noting that the Trump Administration would make additionalFEMA relief available following the July storms. This follows an appealsubmitted by the State of Texas through the Texas Division of EmergencyManagement (TDEM). 

“President Trump has approved Texas’ appeal for FEMAIndividual Assistance after the July storms and flooding,” said GovernorAbbott. "This brings essential financial assistance and services toeligible Texans in the 20 approved counties. I thank President Trump for hisleadership and for this additional support for Texas families.”

The following 20 counties are now approved for FEMAIndividual Assistance: Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Crockett, Dimmit, Frio,Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Maverick, Medina, Real,Schleicher, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala. Texans can apply for FEMAdisaster assistance online at disasterassistance.govor by calling 800-621-3362.

FEMA's Individual Assistance program provides eligibleTexans with financial assistance and services for disaster-related expenses,including temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured and underinsuredpersonal property losses, disaster legal services, disaster unemploymentassistance, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses caused by the disaster.

Additionally, an appeal to FEMA for Hazard Mitigation grant programfunding remains pending.

Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide allavailable resources to support communities impacted by the July severe stormsand flooding, including:

• ‍Obtaining a suspension on federal tax deadlines for affected Texans and businesses
• Calling for suspension of federal tax deadlines for impacted Texans and businesses
• Acquiring federal disaster assistance for four additional counties that sustained storm impacts
• Requesting federal disaster assistance for additional affected counties
• Securing approval of a Major Disaster Declaration following storm impacts
• Communicating the further extension of SNAP replacement benefits for Texans affected by flooding
• Amending the state’s disaster declaration to include additional impacted counties and providing an update in Cotulla on the state’s emergency response in affected areas
• Surveying flood-damaged communities and communicating updates on the state’s response posture.
• Announcing the extension of SNAP replacement benefits for Texans affected by flooding
• Providing an update in Uvalde on the state’s flood response and requesting federal disaster assistance
• Sharing additional updates on Texas’ flood response operations
• Updating Texans on the statewide flood response
• Issuing a state disaster declaration, increasing the readiness level of the Texas State Emergency Operations (SOC) to 24-hour operations at Level II (Escalated Response) and activating additional state emergency response resources as heavy rainfall and flash flooding threats continued
• Deploying state emergency response resources ahead of the severe weather and flash flooding threat