HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — On Friday, President Joe Biden declared the recent severe weather events in Southeast Texas qualified as a major disaster and made federal funding available for the region's recovery efforts.
He ordered federal aid to help the state, tribal and local recovery efforts "in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding beginning on April 26, 2024, and continuing."
The money will be available to those who were affected in the following counties:
- Harris
- Liberty
- Montgomery
- Polk
- San Jacinto
- Trinity
- Walker
Gov. Greg Abbott said Biden approved the declaration for some, but not all, of the counties for which he requested it be approved. The declaration was approved for the aforementioned seven Texas counties, whereas Abbott asked for it to be approved for 26 counties.
"The partial approval of my Presidential Disaster Declaration request is a crucial step in the right direction in helping Texans rebuild and recover from recent severe weather events," Abbott said. "I thank President Biden and his administration’s assistance as Texas continues to respond to severe weather and flooding across the state. Texas is working around the clock to provide all necessary resources to help Texans move forward from these devastating storms."
A release from the White House said the money could be used for:
- Temporary housing and home repairs
- Low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses
- Other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster
FEMA will coordinate the federal operations in Southeast Texas.
Those who were affected can apply for assistance here, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or through the FEMA app.
Damage across area
A destructive and deadly storm moved through the Houston area on Thursday, knocking out power, damaging structures and scattering debris everywhere. Several people were killed.
The National Weather Service now says two EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Waller and Cypress Thursday night.
In the Greater Houston area, it was straight-line winds from a derecho storm event that caused seven deaths, extensive damage and massive power outages.
The severe weather event knocked out power to nearly 1 million CenterPoint customers in Harris County.
The strong winds knocked down trees, power lines and utility poles across the region.
Local leaders set up resources to help those who were affected.