Texas Governor Adds More Counties to Disaster Declaration, Requests Federal Aid

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has added Brown, Caldwell, Callahan, Clay, Comanche, Eastland, Falls, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Madison, Somervell, Stephens, Travis and Trinity to the list of counties declared disaster areas following recent severe weather and flooding in the state.

Previously, on June 1, Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 31 counties: Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Coleman, Colorado, Erath, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Hidalgo, Hood, Jasper, Kleberg, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Lubbock, Montgomery, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Tyler, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton Counties.

Additional counties may be added as damage assessments are submitted, according to the governor’s announcement.

Gov. Abbott also has requested individual and public assistance from the federal government for 12 Texas counties, including: Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Fort Bend, Grimes, Hidalgo, Hood, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Travis, Waller and Washington.

If the request is granted by President Barak Obama, affected citizens in these counties may be eligible for individual assistance grants of up to $33,000 from the federal government, and low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

In Gov. Abbott’s letter to President Obama, he said that including the recent devastating weather Texas has experienced six major disasters “in the last 13 months. Of the 254 counties in Texas, 151 counties have been declared in one of these disasters. Of those 151 counties, 48 of them have been declared in two or more of these disasters. The population of these counties, under five previously issued declarations, is over 19.7 million people, or 72 percent of the total population of Texas. Those 19.7 million people living in a Texas county hit by disaster is greater than the populations of 48 states.”