Governor Greg Abbott announced that four counties in South Texas have been approved for federal disaster assistance following severe storms and flooding in March. The Major Disaster Declaration was authorized by President Donald J. Trump, providing financial aid to affected communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
“President Trump approved four South Texas counties for disaster assistance that will provide critical financial aid to communities impacted by severe weather in March,” stated Governor Abbott. “This approval is a major step forward to ensure that Texans have what they need to rebuild and recover. I thank President Trump for approving this request as well as the state and local officials and emergency response personnel who continue to work tirelessly to help their fellow Texans.”
Residents of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties can now apply for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance program. Applications can be submitted online at disasterassistance.gov or via phone at 800-621-3362.
The FEMA Individual Assistance program offers funding for temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured personal property losses, legal services related to disasters, unemployment assistance due to disasters, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses resulting from the disaster.
A request from Texas is still pending with the federal government regarding access to FEMA’s Public Assistance program. This includes authorizing additional resources from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program statewide and enabling the U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program for physical and economic losses in designated counties.
Governor Abbott continues efforts to support local communities affected by recent flooding by requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration, conducting joint preliminary damage assessments with partners at various levels of government, issuing a state disaster declaration for impacted areas, and activating state emergency response resources prior to storm impacts.
