Governor Abbott Urges Texans To Report Winter Weather Damages
Governor Greg Abbott today urged Texans impacted by this week's winter weather to document and report any property and agricultural damages sustained from ice, snow, and freezing temperatures by utilizing the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s online, self-reported damage assessment tool.
"The State of Texas continues to deploy all necessary resources to help Texans respond to and recover from ice, snow, and freezing temperatures this week,” said Governor Abbott. “As communities begin the recovery process, I urge Texans to report damages to their homes or businesses or any agricultural losses through the iSTAT damage survey. This will help the state determine if we qualify for federal assistance. Texans should continue to monitor local weather forecasts and road conditions to keep yourself and your family safe. I thank Texas emergency management officials as they work around-the-clock to help Texans across the state recover from this winter storm.”
When it is safe to do so, Texans can report storm damage to homes and businesses using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey. iSTAT surveys can be filled out in English and Spanish by visiting damage.tdem.texas.gov and clicking “January 20th Winter Weather.”
By filling out the iSTAT survey, impacted Texans provide key details that enable emergency management teams to assess the severity and scale of the damage caused by ice, snow, and excessive rains. This data also supports efforts to determine whether the state qualifies for various forms of federal disaster assistance.
Using the iSTAT tool is voluntary and is not a substitute for reporting damages to your insurance provider and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance. Resources, including video tutorials on how to complete the survey, are available at damage.tdem.texas.gov.
The Texas State Operations Center remains activated at Level II (Escalated Response) to support local officials with requests for state assistance as response and recovery efforts continue. State officials are working with utility regulators to ensure electrical providers quickly restore power to Texans who have been impacted by localized outages.
Hazardous road conditions may still persist in some areas due to overnight refreezing of snow that melted on Texas roads. Texans are encouraged to avoid travel if possible and follow directions from local officials. Texans can find winter weather resources, including a map of licensed plumbers and warming center information, in the Texas Disaster Portal.