VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas — Editor's note: The video above recently aired about the City of Tyler repairing damage caused by severe weather.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a press release Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved 36 more counties for the Presidential Disaster Declaration for severe weather and flooding that began on April 26. Additionally, five new counties have now been approved for FEMA's Individual Assistance program.
Among the counties who now qualify for FEMA's Individual Assistance program are Smith and Van Zandt counties. The two East Texas counties received approval on Friday morning.
FEMA's Individual Assistance program provides funding for necessities like temporary housing, emergency home repairs, personal property loss, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment assistance, and medical, dental and funeral expenses incurred as a result of the disaster.
“The partial approval for FEMA assistance is a critical step forward in our efforts to continue providing necessary resources to Texans who have been impacted by recent storms,” Abbott said in a press release. “I thank our federal partners for their ongoing support to help affected communities across the state recover and rebuild."
This program has also been extended to the following counties:
Austin, Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Falls, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker and Waller counties.
Texans can apply for FEMA disaster assistance online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.