Texans in Four Additional Counties May Now Apply for Federal Disaster Assistance

AUSTIN, Texas – The federal disaster declaration for Texas has been expanded to include Individual Assistance for four additional counties as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that occurred between May 4 and June 19 according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The four Texas counties newly designated for Individual Assistance are:

Hood, Madison, Shelby and Wharton.

They join 42 counties already designated for Individual Assistance: Angelina, Bastrop, Blanco, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Cherokee, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Frio, Gaines, Grayson, Guadalupe, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Johnson, Liberty, Milam, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Nueces, Rusk, Smith, Travis, Trinity, Walker, Wichita, Williamson, Wise and Van Zandt.

Residents in the now 46 designated counties are eligible to apply for state and federal disaster assistance. Disaster assistance, for homeowners and renters, may include grants to help pay for rent, temporary housing and home repairs, as well as other serious disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses or funeral and burial costs.

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for eligible survivors. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits from other agencies or organizations.

Residents and business owners should apply right away with SBA as part of the overall federal disaster recovery process, and not wait for insurance claims to settle.

Texans who had storm damage should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but under-insured applicants may be eligible for help after their insurance claims have been settled.

People can apply for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call             800-621-3362 toll free from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) daily until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.

Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call800-621-3362.

The deadline for applying is Aug. 27.

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program has a call center to answer Texas policyholders’ flood insurance questions. Specialists can help with servicing claims, providing general information and offering technical assistance to aid in recovery. To speak with a flood insurance specialist, call 800-621-3362 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

For more information on Texas disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4223. You can follow us on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA.

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All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

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. 

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.

Funeral expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, those who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, transportation, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

Visit www.fema.gov/texas-disaster-mitigation for publications and reference material on rebuilding and repairing safer and stronger.