People whose homes and belongings were damaged in the July storms and flooding in Texas can now apply for direct federal help, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state's appeal for Individual Assistance in 20 counties.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the approval Friday. The appeal had been filed through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, according to the governor's office, and the decision followed President Donald Trump's statement earlier in the week that his administration would make more relief available for the July storms.
"This brings essential financial assistance and services to eligible Texans in the 20 approved counties," Abbott said in the release, thanking the president.
Which counties
The approval covers Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Crockett, Dimmit, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Maverick, Medina, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala counties. No North Texas county is on the list.
What the program pays for
Individual Assistance can help eligible residents with disaster costs that insurance did not cover or did not fully cover, the governor's office said. That includes temporary housing, emergency repairs to make a home livable, lost personal property, disaster legal services, unemployment tied to the disaster, and medical, dental and funeral costs caused by the storms.
