FEMA Aid Reversed: Individual Assistance Approved for 20 Texas Counties After the July Floods
Reversing an earlier denial, the federal government has approved Texas's appeal for FEMA Individual Assistance in 20 counties hit by the July storms and flooding, Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed - opening grants for housing, repairs and uninsured losses.
AUSTIN - The answer changed. The federal government has reversed its earlier denial and approved FEMA Individual Assistance for 20 Texas counties devastated by the July 2026 storms and flooding, Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed on October 30. 'President Trump has approved Texas' appeal for FEMA Individual Assistance after the July storms and flooding,' Abbott said. 'This brings essential financial assistance and services to eligible Texans in the 20 approved counties.'
The approved counties are Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Crockett, Dimmit, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Maverick, Medina, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala. The July flooding destroyed 132 homes, caused major damage to 618 additional residences and small businesses, and killed at least three people. The approval follows a formal appeal the Texas Division of Emergency Management submitted on October 20 and a public pledge by President Trump on October 24 to expand disaster recovery funds - a sequence this station has followed from the denial forward.
Individual Assistance is the program that reaches households directly, unlike the Public Assistance already approved for government debris removal and infrastructure. Eligible residents in the 20 counties may now apply for grants covering temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured property losses, disaster legal services, unemployment assistance, and medical or funeral expenses, online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.
One piece of the state's request is still open: a separate appeal for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding - the money for long-term work such as floodplain buyouts and infrastructure hardening - remains pending as of October 31. For the Hill Country and South Texas families who have carried the recovery on their own since July, the household program is the part that arrives first.
