Governor Greg Abbott on June 8th, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved three additional Texas counties for the Federal Disaster Declaration for severe weather and flooding that began on April 26. With this FEMA approval of 3 new counties for Individual Assistance programs, qualifying Texans in 35 total counties are now eligible to apply for federal disaster assistance.

"On June 8th's approval of three more Texas counties for the Federal Disaster Declaration will help ensure communities affected by recent severe weather have the assistance they need to rebuild and recover," said Governor Abbott. "I thank our federal partners and emergency response personnel across our great state who are working tirelessly to protect and support their fellow Texans. Texas will continue to provide every necessary resource to regions across the state who are recovering from these storms."

FEMA approved its Individual Assistance program for three additional counties, including Ellis, Navarro, and Terrell counties. FEMA’s Individual Assistance program provides funding for 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

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

The Governor’s request for Public Assistance for 20 additional Texas counties is still pending review by FEMA. Qualifying entities in the following counties are eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance program: Austin, Bosque, Brown, Caldwell, Calhoun, Clay, Coleman, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Eastland, Falls, Freestone, Grimes, Hamilton, Hardin, Harris, Hockley, Houston, Jasper, Lamar, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, Mills, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, San Saba, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, and Washington counties. FEMA’s Public Assistance program may cover jurisdictional expenses for debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and contents, public utilities, parks, recreational, and other facilities.

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, added five counties on May 30, and amended the declaration on June 5.
• 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 Federal Disaster Declaration on May 15 for Texas communities impacted by severe storms.
• Securing partial approval of a Federal Disaster Declaration on May 17 for areas of the state affected by severe weather.
• Requesting additional counties be added to the Federal 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 Federal Disaster Declaration.
• Ensuring additional impacted Texas counties were included in the Federal Disaster Declaration.
• Securing additional approvals in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Texas communities impacted by severe weather and flooding.
• Obtaining approvals for more counties on the Federal Disaster Declaration for impacted communities