Governor Greg Abbott on May 17th, issued a statement on the severe weather and tornadoes that have impacted communities in Southeast Texas:

"Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives due to severe weather in Southeast Texas, and we remain in contact with local officials to do everything we can to protect Texans and help our communities recover,” said Governor Abbott. “As severe weather sweeps through the Southeast region of the state, Texas continues to deploy resources and assistance to impacted communities to ensure the safety of Texans. Last month, I prepared state emergency response resources and issued a disaster declaration. I have since amended that declaration to ensure every community threatened by dangerous weather conditions would have access to necessary resources. The Texas Division of Emergency Management continues to support impacted communities with immediate and long-term recovery resource needs. The Public Utility Commission of Texas is coordinating with utility providers to restore power to affected areas as quickly as possible. I encourage Texans who sustained storm damage to report it online at damage.tdem.texas.gov when it is safe to do so. I thank the emergency response personnel who are working around-the-clock to protect their fellow Texans as we respond to this severe weather event."

View the Governor's disaster declaration.