AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the federal government has updated the Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Beryl to include 17 Texas counties now eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individual Assistance program.
Texas may request additional counties for federal assistance based on completion of damage assessments in impacted communities.
Texans who sustained damage to their home or business are encouraged to report it using the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey to help determine if counties are eligible for financial assistance.
“ This approval to include 17 counties for FEMA assistance is a crucial step forward to help Texans and communities recover and rebuild after Hurricane Beryl,” Abbott said late last week. “We continue working with our federal, state and local partners to assess damages as part of Texas’ ongoing response to ensure all necessary resources, funding, and assistance are available to support impacted communities.”
Qualifying Texans in the following counties are eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker, and Wharton. Texans can apply for FEMA disaster assistance online at disasterassistance. gov or by calling 800-621-3362.
“I thank all the state and local officials, emergency response personnel and first responders,” Abbott said, “who continue to work tirelessly to help their fellow Texans in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.” 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.
A request from Texas to the federal government to reopen the incident period and instead designate it as “continuing” amid the ongoing response and recovery to Hurricane Beryl remains pending with FEMA.
Texans are urged to submit online damage surveys to report damage to homes and businesses using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey. iSTAT surveys can be filled out in English and Spanish by visiting damage. tdem.texas.gov and clicking “July 7th - Ongoing Hurricane/Tropical Storm Beryl.”
Texas continues to support the needs of local officials and distribute truckloads of commodities to affected areas, including generators, tarps, fuel, ready-to-eat meals, water, and ice. To date, the state has distributed more than 3,677,000 bottles of water, more than 472,800 ready-toeat meals, and more than 127,700 bags of ice to communities impacted by Hurricane Beryl.
Comment
Comments