Governor Greg Abbott today expanded the state’s disaster declaration to include additional counties impacted by the ice storm that began in January and continued into early February. The counties added to the Governor’s disaster declaration are: Anderson, Bastrop, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Delta, Falls, Hopkins, Hunt, Kendall, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Red River, Robertson, and Shelby counties.
“As the scope of damages sustained during the recent ice storm becomes clearer, it is important we continue to assist and provide full support to all impacted communities,” said Governor Abbott. “The addition of these counties to our disaster declaration will ensure Texas communities have all resources available to them as they continue to recover from this storm. I thank TDEM and our emergency response partners for working to meet the needs of Texans during this recovery process.”
These counties join Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis, and Williamson counties, which were included in the Governor’s disaster declaration on February 4. Additional counties may be added to the declaration as damage assessments are completed.
Last week, the Governor directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to request the Federal Emergency Management Agency provide personnel to certify reported damages through joint preliminary damage assessments in partnership with local and state officials. Additionally, TDEM has deployed specialized teams throughout Texas’ recovery to work with utility providers and electric cooperatives in affected areas to capture infrastructure damages and identify potential opportunities for disaster assistance.
As the winter weather system moved through the state, Governor Abbott urged Texans to report ice storm damage to homes and business using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT). The information submitted by affected Texans helped identify resource needs and gain an understanding of the extent of damage sustained across Texas communities. On January 30, the Governor directed TDEM to increase the readiness level of the State Operations Center (SOC) to Level II (Escalated Response) and mobilize state emergency response resources as winter weather began impacting large portions of Texas. The next day, the Governor provided an update on the State of Texas’ response to the severe winter weather conditions at a press conference from the SOC.