Texas declares disaster for 101 counties

Governor Greg Abbott’s June 15 disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties and Houston’s July 8 approval of a $45 million home-repair program show how Texas is handling storm response and longer-term recovery at the same time. Abbott said the declaration was meant to give local officials access to the full range of state resources as severe storms and flood risks continued across large parts of the state. Houston officials, meanwhile, approved federally funded repair and reconstruction aid for owner-occupied homes damaged by Hurricane Beryl and the May 2024 derecho. The Texas General Land Office is also taking comments on an updated mitigation plan, adding a policy track to the state’s active response and rebuilding work. Outside the United States, officials in India and China were also dealing with major flooding this week, including deadly inundation in Gujarat and an upgraded national disaster response level in Guangxi. (gov.texas.gov) ### Why did Abbott declare a disaster for 101 counties? Abbott said on June 15 that severe storms were continuing to threaten Texas and that additional counties could be added if conditions warranted. His office said the declaration was issued because of the impact of ongoing storms and flood risks, and it covered counties across Central, South and Southeast Texas, including Harris County. (glo.texas.gov) The governor said the order would ensure that local officials and communities had access to state support and emergency resources. State emergency preparations were also being ramped up as forecasters warned of heavy rainfall, flash flooding, hazardous wind gusts, hail and possible tornadoes. (gov.texas.gov) ### What exactly did Houston approve? Houston City Council approved guidelines on July 8 for a $45 million program to repair or rebuild single-family homes damaged by Hurricane Beryl and the 2024 derecho. Houston Public Media reported that eligible homeowners could receive up to $100,000 for repairs and as much as $300,000 for reconstruction. (gov.texas.gov) The program is federally funded and targets owner-occupied homes. Houston Public Media reported that the approval came two years after the storms tore through the city, and the city is using part of a broader recovery allocation tied to those disasters. (houstonpublicmedia.org) ### What is the state asking the public to comment on? The Texas General Land Office posted Amendment 5 to the Mitigation State Action Plan for a 30-day public comment period this week. The amendment introduces what the agency calls the Mitigation Reallocation Program, which the GLO said is intended to direct unused and deobligated federal mitigation funds toward projects that reduce future disaster risk. (houstonpublicmedia.org) Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the program would give communities a chance to pursue projects aimed at long-term resilience. The GLO said comments can be sent to the agency before 5 p.m. on August 6, after which it will review responses and submit the amendment to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for final approval. (glo.texas.gov) ### How does this fit into the wider flood picture this week? Gujarat officials said at least nine people were killed and more than 3,500 were evacuated after record rainfall flooded Surat district over two days. Hindustan Times reported that Surat received 358 mm of rain in 24 hours, disrupting transport, shutting schools and prompting large-scale rescue operations. (glo.texas.gov) China’s national commission for disaster prevention, reduction and relief said on July 9 that it raised the national disaster response level to Level III for severe flooding in Nanning and Guigang in Guangxi. Xinhua said a joint working team had been sent to the affected areas. ### What comes next in Texas? August 6 is the next dated milestone in Texas’s mitigation process, because that is the deadline for public comments on the GLO amendment. (hindustantimes.com) After that, the land office said it will review comments and send the revised plan to HUD for final approval, while Houston begins implementing the $45 million repair and reconstruction program approved on July 8. (glo.texas.gov) (chinaview.cn)