Do your part to help your county receive FEMA assistance
February 25, 2021
From Kerr County
As residents, especially those in the rural reaches of the county, continue to recover from the multiple rounds of ice and snow falling over an uncharacteristically long stretch of sub-freezing temperature days – the likes of which had not been seen since the early 1980s – Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator William B. “Dub” Thomas again encouraged all locals to report the damages to their homes and businesses in a survey.
So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved public assistance for Kerr County, which means that federal dollars will be committed to repairing local infrastructure. FEMA has not, however, approved individual assistance, which would come in the form of federal funds straight to individual residents for rebuilding or repairing in the storm’s aftermath.
All Kerr County residents and business owners who suffered damages to their properties as a result of the storm are asked to report those damages using one of two methods:
2) For those who do not have internet access or who do not feel comfortable trying to complete the survey on a computer, call 1.844.844.3089 and answer the prompts.
“I can’t stress enough just how important it is that everyone who has damage complete this survey,” Thomas said. “FEMA will use the results of that survey to decide if our county should qualify for individual assistance in federal funds.”
“I have no doubt that our county’s residents have suffered enough damages that they should receive FEMA assistance on the individual level, and that the county is definitely in a state of disaster from the harsh storm,” Thomas said.
“If enough residents complete the survey, then it will increase everyone’s odds in the county of getting funds to fix their homes and businesses,” Thomas said. “We are a strong community of neighbors helping neighbors and we will bounce back from this historic storm. The question is ‘how long will it take?’ If enough people do not complete the survey, then I’m afraid to think of the unnecessary hardship that repairs and rebuilding will cause us.”
From Representative Andrew Murr
President Biden recently issued a Disaster Declaration eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance to only 108 of the 254 counties in Texas - although extensive damage extends into every county throughout the state. Only 1 county out of the 12 counties Representative Andrew Murr represent was listed in this recent declaration and he has joined with local and federal elected officials from our area to advocate for the immediate inclusion of Bandera, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, Menard, Real, Schleicher, and Sutton counties, so that residents can seek individual relief.
The information in the survey is vital and is used by the Texas Division on Emergency Management (TDEM) to make the case for the Federal government to extend the declaration to all 254 counties. Access the survey by clicking here.
Please know Murr is continuing to fight to allow all Texans to be eligible for disaster assistance and on February 22, 2021, 27 Texas congressional members wrote a letter to President Biden again urging him to extend the Federal Disaster Declaration to ALL 254 counties. To read it, click here.
