Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott has announced that four counties in South Texas will receive federal disaster assistance following severe storms and flooding in March. The Major Disaster Declaration, approved by President Donald J. Trump, includes the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy.

"President Trump approved four South Texas counties for disaster assistance that will provide critical financial aid to communities impacted by severe weather in March," said 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 in these counties can apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance program through disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. This program offers support for temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured personal property losses, legal services related to the disaster, unemployment assistance due to the disaster, and medical expenses caused by the event.

A request from Texas remains pending with the federal government to approve access to FEMA’s Public Assistance program. This would authorize additional resources from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program statewide and activate the U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program for physical and economic loss in designated areas.

Governor Abbott has taken several actions to support communities affected by recent flooding. These include requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration, conducting joint preliminary damage assessments with partners at various levels of government, issuing a state disaster declaration for affected areas, and activating state emergency response resources prior to storm impacts.