Governor Abbott, Texas Division Of Emergency Management Appeal FEMA Public Assistance Denial For Tropical Storm Imelda
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the State of Texas has appealed the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) denial of Texas' Major Disaster Declaration request for Public Assistance for Tropical Storm Imelda. The Governor initially requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for six Texas counties in October 2019 following widespread damage and severe flooding from the storm. This request was approved in October. A subsequent request for Public Assistance, submitted by Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief Nim Kidd in December of 2019, was denied.
At the Governor's request, Chief Kidd has submitted a letter to FEMA asking the federal government to reverse their decision and provide much-needed assistance to local governments and non-profits for infrastructure and recovery efforts.
"The State of Texas is committed to ensuring our local governments and non-profits have the resources they need to assist their communities throughout the recovery process following Tropical Storm Imelda," said Governor Abbott. "Texas is grateful for the support our federal partners have shown by approving our request for Individual Assistance, and the approval of Public Assistance would further enhance and expedite the recovery of our communities. I respectfully ask that our partners at FEMA reconsider their decision, and provide this much-needed supplemental support to keep Texas on a path to recovery."
"The addition of FEMA Public Assistance is necessary to achieving the goal of long term recovery in Texas," reads the letter from Chief Kidd. "The repeated onslaught of flooding and record breaking catastrophic events has left Texas with an incredibly arduous task of long term recovery. Supplementary federal assistance is necessary to enable our citizens and local governments a complete recovery from this disaster."