President Signs Disaster Declaration for Texas Counties as Claims Mount
A disaster declaration signed by Pres. Barak Obama will help citizens in Harris, Hays and Van Zandt counties in Texas as they begin to recover from violent storm systems that brought tornadoes, high winds and massive flooding in May.
The Associated Press reported that at least 31 people have been killed in storms that began in Texas and Oklahoma over the Memorial Day weekend. Twenty-seven of the deaths have been in Texas alone, and 11 people were still missing on May 30.
Property damage costs are expected to be high, especially from flooding.
Thousands of vehicles were flooded statewide in the storms. Losses from flooded autos is estimated at $250 million, according to Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. Hanna said that number could rise to $350 million.
He estimated that hail storms in April in Texas produced about a billion dollars’ worth of damage and in May, damage from a combination of hail, tornadoes and flooding is estimated at about one billion, as well.
In Houston on Memorial Day nearly a foot of rain submerged roads and stranded hundreds of motorists with floodwaters affecting virtually every part of the city, the AP reported. Firefighters carried out more than 500 water rescues, most involving stranded motorists. At least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers seeking higher ground, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration, which manages the National Flood Insurance Program, on May 29 said it currently has no flood loss figures to report .
According to the NFIP, Texas is second only to Florida in the number of flood insurance policies in force, with 597,951 policies in force statewide as of March 31, 2015. That figure represents nearly $375 million premium.
Flood policies in nearby states include: Arkansas, 19,809; Louisiana, 470,770; and Oklahoma, 16,291.
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