President Joe Biden has approved a new federal disaster relief package that will allow residents of counties hardest hit by Hurricane Beryl to apply for financial assistance directly from the government.
Residents in the 17 counties hardest hit by Harris, including Harris, Brazoria, Galveston and Montgomery, can apply for up to $42,500 for temporary shelter and home repairs, as well as to purchase emergency supplies like food, water and medicine.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo praised the announcement.
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“State and local governments completed their verification of the tallies last night and submitted their applications — a record-breaking approval,” Governor Hidalgo said in a statement.
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To apply, residents can visit Disasterassistance.gov and submit their needs. There is no set deadline for eligibility, meaning any damages related to Beryl could be covered. Approval times are on a case-by-case basis.
The federal aid comes after pressure from Houston-area lawmakers, who sent President Biden a letter Friday making an “urgent plea” to speed up the process of releasing Federal Emergency Management Agency aid to thousands of people still without power days after Beryl struck.
“Many residents in the Houston area and surrounding areas have been without power for days while experiencing daily temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” said the letter, led by Republican Rep. Randy Weber of Friendswood and signed by 18 Texans, including Houston-area Democrats and Republicans. “Residents are in urgent need of the resources FEMA can provide.”
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Acting Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday formally requested President Biden approve individual aid for residents of the 15 counties hardest hit by the storm: Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker and Wharton.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday that the federal government has updated the program to include Fort Bend and Nacogdoches counties.
In his original request, Patrick said damage assessments required by FEMA to release the funds showed that many homes in those counties were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed. The state confirmed reports that 85 homes were destroyed and 426 were heavily damaged, Patrick wrote.
Mr Patrick’s letter also cited other serious problems at Beryl, including hundreds of thousands of homes being left without power for several days.
Biden and state Republican leaders are at odds over a request for a major disaster declaration approved by the president earlier this week, which freed up federal resources for initial “life-saving and life-sustaining” assistance, including debris removal and supplies such as food and generators.
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The president said in an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday that he had to “hunt down” Patrick, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is on a trip to Asia, to get the request, which Biden approved the same day.
For FEMA to act, a governor must formally request federal assistance and the president must approve it. States have submitted such requests fairly early on in past storms, including Hurricanes Ike, Harvey and Hanna.
Both Patrick and Abbott maintained that the request to the White House was not delayed and accused Biden of lying about trying to reach out to them. Patrick said in a post on social media site X on Thursday that the president was “trying to use FEMA as a political tool.”
Starting Monday, state officials and the Texas Emergency Management Agency are asking residents affected by the storm to submit reports of home damage and other damage through the Individual Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT), an online survey that will help state officials quickly determine the extent of damage across the region.
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“Many Texans have suffered property damage from Beryl, and reporting that information is essential in order for Texas to qualify for relief from FEMA,” Governor Abbott said on social media Monday.
The federal government can only provide individual assistance through FEMA to counties with sufficient “unmet need,” such as casualties, impacts to community infrastructure, and uninsured households that have suffered losses.
After the May floods, Texas Emergency Management Director Nim Kidd said that as a rule of thumb, officials would have to prove that at least 800 uninsured homes were severely damaged or destroyed before a county could qualify for direct aid from FEMA.