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President Declares Major Disaster For Texas 

Release Date: August 3, 2010
Release Number: HQ-10-149

» More Information on Texas Hurricane Alex

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that federal aid has been made available for Texas to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Hurricane Alex beginning on June 30, 2010, and continuing.

The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde, Webb, and Zapata.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Alex in the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Maverick, Starr, Webb, Willacy, and Zapata.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Bradley M. Harris was named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Harris said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FEMA said that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts available at www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema ; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fema  and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fema.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010 23:17:53