Governor Greg Abbott announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for a rural area disaster declaration in response to severe flooding that occurred in July. The declaration covers Coke, Concho, Kendall, Mason, and Sutton counties.
“With the approval of this disaster declaration, more communities impacted by the devastating floods that took place over the Fourth of July weekend will have access to critical financial assistance they need to recover,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working with our federal partners to ensure Texans have the support they need to rebuild. Texas will continue to provide all necessary resources to those affected by these catastrophic floods so they can rebuild and move forward.”
The SBA’s approval allows homeowners, renters, and businesses in these areas to apply for low-interest loans through its Home Disaster Loans, Business Physical Disaster Loans, and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program following the July flooding.
People seeking assistance can apply online at sba.gov/disaster or contact SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or via email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can use telecommunications relay services by dialing 7-1-1. Completed applications should be mailed to the U.S. Small Business Administration Processing and Disbursement Center in Fort Worth.
Governor Abbott has taken several actions since the flooding began. These include requesting various federal disaster declarations and extensions of aid programs such as unemployment assistance and SNAP replacement benefits for affected counties. He also worked with organizations like Vaqueros del Mar Texas Flood Relief Fund and Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country on direct relief efforts and funding initiatives.
Other measures have included touring flood damage sites with state officials, updating disaster declarations as new areas were impacted, securing grant funding for hospitals affected by floods in Kerrville and Llano, launching an emotional support line for flood survivors, increasing readiness levels at emergency operations centers ahead of storms, deploying state resources before predicted rainfall events, and coordinating ongoing recovery operations across multiple regions.
These efforts reflect continued collaboration between state agencies and federal partners aimed at helping communities recover from significant weather-related disasters.
