Disaster Declaration Offers Assistance to Houston After Beryl

This week, President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for Texas to help repair damage from Hurricane Beryl. The declaration does not yet include any direct aid to individuals, however. Here’s what we know.

On Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced major disaster declarations for 67 affected counties across Texas, including Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery and other surrounding counties.

The declaration releases federal funds “to supplement recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Beryl,” according to a FEMA news release. The funds are being distributed on a cost-share basis between local governments and select nonprofit organizations.

As of Thursday morning, what was missing was a federal disaster declaration for individual assistance, like the one approved for damage caused by the derecho storm that hit the region in May, FEMA spokesman Fabian Gutierrez said.

The suspension of individual aid comes after Biden singled out Texas officials for a delay in federal disaster aid, as first reported by the Houston Chronicle. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has taken the lead on the hurricane response in the absence of Gov. Greg Abbott, who is on an economic development trip to Asia.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be a major disaster, with the drama of the derecho, or if they’re going to be two different events,” Gutierrez said. “I’m still waiting to know all those details and they’ll be sorted out.”

That statement could come from Washington soon, Gutierrez added, but there is no specific timetable as to when that will happen.

FEMA disaster recovery centers that opened after the derecho are slowly starting to reopen after Beryl, Gutierrez said, where people could only apply for federal assistance for derecho damage for now.

For now, affected Texans can report any damage through the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The state website offers an online statewide damage assessment tool, or iSTAT, to assess damage to a residence, commercial space or agricultural property.

These online surveys are available in English and Spanish. Users are encouraged to take photos of the damage and upload them to these surveys to get a better idea of ​​the extent of the damage.

“Information provided by the iSTAT damage survey helps emergency management officials identify damage in affected areas,” said a news release issued Wednesday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

“In addition, the information gathered during the survey helps authorities determine whether the state meets federal requirements for various forms of federal disaster assistance.”

Related