Governor Greg Abbott on June 5th, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved five additional Texas counties for the Presidential Disaster Declaration for severe storms and flooding that began on April 26 and remain an ongoing threat. The additional counties approved for FEMA’s Individual Assistance programs are Austin, Dallas, Hockley, Kaufman, and Newton counties.

"The approval of five additional counties for the Presidential Disaster Declaration will help provide critical aid to Texans who have been impacted by recent severe storms," said Governor Abbott. "Texans are urged to continue to self-report any damages to their homes or businesses to help state and local officials determine if more counties meet the requirements for federal assistance. I thank our federal partners for continuing to work with Texas officials to support our recovery efforts as Texans rebuild and move forward.”

Qualifying Texans in the following counties are now eligible to apply for FEMA’s Individual Assistance programs: Austin, Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, and Waller counties. Texans can apply for FEMA disaster assistance online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.

FEMA’s Individual Assistance program funding assists with expenses such as temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured and underinsured personal property losses, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment assistance, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses caused by the disaster.

The Governor’s request for Individual Assistance remains under FEMA’s review for Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Leon, Navarro, Smith, Terrell, and Van Zandt counties. Additional counties may be added to the Governor’s request as additional damage assessments are validated in affected communities.

Additionally, the FEMA Public Assistance program for public infrastructure repairs and emergency work remain approved for Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Walker counties, with the Governor’s request for 47 additional Texas counties pending review by FEMA for the Public Assistance program.

With severe storms continuing to impact Texas communities, state emergency response and recovery resources remain tied in with local officials in areas that have been affected by severe storms and flooding that began on April 26.

Texans who experienced property damage are urged to report their damages utilizing the online Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey by visiting damage.tdem.texas.gov. The information provided in the iSTAT surveys helps officials connect impacted Texans with resources and services. Additionally, as those damages are reported to the state, officials make determinations on whether they meet the federally-set thresholds for federal disaster assistance.

Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities from the impacts of severe weather, including:

• Readying state emergency response resources on April 25 ahead of wildfire and severe weather threats.
• Issuing a disaster declaration on April 30 for counties affected by recent storms and deploying additional state emergency response resources in anticipation of severe weather and flooding. The Governor first amended his disaster declaration on May 2, updated it further on May 7, amended it again on May 15, added additional counties on May 20, made additional updates on May 26, and added five counties on May 30.
• Increasing the readiness level of the State Emergency Operations Center to help support local officials with requests for state assistance.
• Holding a briefing on May 6 with local and state officials from impacted areas and providing an update on the state’s robust response efforts in support of local communities.
• Requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration on May 15 for Texas communities impacted by severe storms.
• Securing partial approval of a Presidential Disaster Declaration on May 17 for areas of the state affected by severe weather.
• Requesting additional counties be added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration on May 19 for Texas communities impacted by severe storms.
• Providing an update on the state’s response and recovery efforts in impacted communities.
• Securing additional approvals for Texas counties in the Presidential Disaster Declaration.