Dallas County added to federal disaster declaration; FEMA opening recovery centers (2024)

Residents in Dallas and Kaufman counties impacted by last week's severe weather are now able to apply for help from FEMA.

Dallas County officials said Wednesday that officials with the Biden Administration approved adding Dallas County to the Presidential Disaster Declaration, "ensuring that residents who were impacted by last week’s severe weather are eligible to apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance program."

The disaster declaration is for damage done by storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding and currently covers nine North Texas counties.

“I want to thank President Biden for this declaration. This will bring much-needed assistance to our Dallas County residents who are still recovering from the severe storms and straight-line winds,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins. “I also want to thank Tony Robinson, Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 6, Scott T. Forster, Dallas County Chief of Emergency Services, the Dallas County team, along with all of our cities’ emergency management teams who documented the damage making this declaration possible. Individual Assistance opens up the door for FEMA to provide assistance to homeowners and renters for damage and losses not covered by insurance.”

Funding from FEMA's Individual Assistance program helps residents cover expenses such as temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured and underinsured personal property losses, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment assistance, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses caused by the disaster.

More information about the Individual Assistance program can be found here.

Renters can apply for FEMA assistance

FEMA Individual Assistance is available to renters, including students, as well as homeowners in Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker and Waller counties with uninsured losses from the storms, tornadoes and flooding that began April 26.

FEMA grants can help pay for temporary housing. Renters may also qualify for financial help to replace essential personal property, medical and dental, transportation, childcare, moving and storage and other uninsured expenses

Disaster recovery centers open in Denton, Eastland, Waller counties

FEMA is opening Disaster Recovery Centers in Denton, Eastland and Waller counties on June 6 to provide one-on-one help to Texans affected by the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding and straight-line winds that began April 26.

The centers are located at:

Denton County
Butterfield Elementary
291 Indian Lane
Sanger, TX 76266

Eastland County (Closing June 12)
Colquitt Williams Park
101 N. Cooper Street
Rising Star, TX 76471

Waller County
Pine Island Baptist Church
36573 Brumlow Road
Hempstead, TX 77445

The centers will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. To find the center location nearest you go to fema.gov/drc.

Residents in Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, and Waller counties can visit any open center to meet with representatives of FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration. No appointment is needed.

All centers are accessible to people with disabilities or access and functional needs and are equipped with assistive technology. If you need a reasonable accommodation or sign language interpreter, please call 833-285-7448 (press 2 for Spanish).

Texans do not have to visit a Disaster Recovery Center to apply for FEMA assistance. To apply, homeowners and renters can:

• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download the FEMA App for mobile devices.
• Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.

Deadline to apply is July 16. For more information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4781.

TWU disaster unemployment assistance now available in five additional counties

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) in five additional counties impacted by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 26.

As noted in the announcement from Gov. Greg Abbott, the amended Presidential Disaster Declaration now includes Austin, Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, and Waller Counties.

Workers and self-employed individuals in the designated counties who have been unable to work due to damage sustained from the severe weather may be eligible for DUA benefits. Individuals can apply for benefits online through Unemployment Benefit Services or by calling TWC at (800) 939-6631 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Individuals should specify that their applications are related to the damage caused by severe weather. Applications for DUA benefits under this declaration must be submitted by July 16, 2024.

• DUA, which is an unemployment insurance benefit made available especially for victims of disaster, is available to individuals who:
• Have applied for and used all regular unemployment benefits, or do not qualify for unemployment benefits;
• Worked or were self-employed or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in the disaster area;
• Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster;
• Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income;
• Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster;
• Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of household; or
• Were unable to reach their job or self-employment location because they must travel through the affected area and are prevented from doing so by the disaster.

To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed. Required documentation includes a Social Security number, and documentation to support that you were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred or were about to start work or self-employment and could not do so due to the disaster.

TWC must have documents that prove you were working, or scheduled to start working, at the time of the disaster. If you do not send us proof of employment by the 21-day deadline, TWC will halt DUA payments and you will be responsible for repaying any benefits you received. In some cases, TWC can use information in our system, such as wage records, to prove you were employed at the time of the disaster.

Submit your proof of employment using TWC’s online UI Submission Portal for the fastest review. Select DUA Proof of Employment at Time of Disaster from the Type of Submission drop-down menu. If you cannot use the online portal, you can submit the proof by fax or mail.

Texas Workforce Commission
Attn: DUA Proof
P.O. Box 149137
Austin, TX 78714-9137

Fax: (512) 322-2867

TWC’s website contains more information about local Workforce Solutions offices for access to job search resources, job postings and training programs, as well as assistance with exploring career options, résumé and application preparation, career development and more. Customers also may connect with potential employers through TWC’s online job search engine by visiting WorkinTexas.com.

Additional counties affected by severe weather may be added to this disaster declaration. The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) encourages Texans to report damage to homes and businesses using the online Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT). These surveys help emergency officials determine eligibility for federal assistance such as DUA.