Texans Who Registered for April Storm Damage Should Register for May-June Floods, Too

AUSTIN, Texas—Residents of 10 Texas counties that were hit by storms and flooding in April are encouraged to register with FEMA for federal disaster assistance if they had damage from the May-June event, as well.

In back-to-back disaster declarations, residents of 10 counties were affected by storms and flooding April 17-30 and again May 26-June 24. Those counties were Austin, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Parker, San Jacinto, Tyler and Waller.

If residents of those 10 counties registered with FEMA for April disaster-related damage, they also need to register for damage sustained in the May-June storms.

Federal assistance became available to 24 counties for the May-June floods after the presidential disaster declaration of June 11.

Those counties are Austin, Bastrop, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Eastland, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Hidalgo, Hood, Kleberg, Lee, Liberty, Montgomery, Palo Pinto, Parker, San Jacinto, Stephens, Travis, Tyler, Waller and Washington.

The deadline to register for assistance is the same for all 24 counties: Aug. 10.

Applying for disaster assistance is essentially a two-step process, which ensures consideration for all FEMA programs and the U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans. First, register with FEMA, then complete and return the no-obligation SBA loan application, if one is offered. There is no charge to apply for the loan and if approved, no obligation to accept it.

Disaster survivors may register the following ways:

• online at DisasterAssistance.gov
• phone 800-621-3362 (FEMA). Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service may also call 800-621-3362. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-462-7585. The toll-free numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.
• at a disaster recovery center. To find the nearest one, go online to the disaster recovery center locator at asd.fema.gov/inter/locator.

FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid or other federal benefits.

Survivors should register even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but underinsured applicants may receive help after their claims have been settled.

A free multilingual guide to the types of assistance available can be found at fema.gov/help-after-disaster.

For more information on the Texas recovery, visit the disaster webpage for the May-June storms at fema.gov/disaster/4272; or visit the Texas Division of Emergency Management website at txdps.state.tx.us/dem. Follow us on Twitter @femaregion6.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.