AUSTIN – A severe weather front descended on a vast stretch of Central Texas April 26, eventually menacing scores of counties with extreme winds, tornadoes and flooding. By mid-May, a band of storms was raging across Texas, including Houston, with winds that hit 100 miles per hour, smashing windows, launching roofs and downing trees and power lines. Power outages were extensive enough to be seen in satellite images.

The wave of weather events lasted through June 5. President Biden’s Major Disaster Declaration came earlier on May 17. Sunday, Nov. 17, marks six months of federal, state and local recovery efforts since then.

The declaration made federal funds available in all the designated counties. Homeowners, renters and businesses in 40 counties became eligible to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, which provides grants for temporary housing, home repairs, personal property losses, and to other programs, including the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan program, which helps homeowners, renters, private nonprofit organizations, and businesses with their long-term recovery needs.

In 76 counties, the state, county and local governments and certain nonprofits, including some churches, became eligible for various types of FEMA Public Assistance to help repair and replace damaged infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and community buildings. Texas also became eligible for federal funds for hazard mitigation measures statewide, available on a cost-sharing basis.

But the weather hadn’t yet quit. Hurricane Beryl set upon the region on July 5, resulting in another federal disaster declaration on July 9. The hurricane impact decimated more communities, prompting Individual Assistance designations in 22 counties, and Public Assistance in 67 counties. Millions more in federal dollars became available, in addition to 2,657 federal staff who had already begun arriving since the first declaration.

As federal assistance supplemented the state, local and community efforts, survivors’ success stories have mounted. After six months, FEMA’s numbers help tell their stories. As of Nov. 15, the total federal contribution to recovery for both disasters, so far, is more than $1.64 Billion. Details in dollars approved are below.

For Texas Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (Declared May 17, 2024):

• Total Individual Assistance: $266,402,720
  • Housing Assistance:  $128,074,387
  • Other Needs Assistance: $138,328,333
• Public Assistance: $31,638,846 (323 requests have been submitted for 1,069 projects.)
• SBA Disaster Loans: $138,079,100.
• National Flood Insurance Claims paid: $72,590,820.

For Texas Hurricane Beryl (Declared July 9, 2024):

• Total Individual Assistance: $777,482,091
  • Housing Assistance: $139,874,058
  • Other Needs Assistance: $637,608,033
• Public Assistance: $50,000,238 (360 requests have been submitted for 1,169 projects.)
• SBA Disaster Loans: Dollars approved: $385,490,850.
• National Flood Insurance Claims paid: $49,700,000.

Hazard Mitigation Grants covering both disasters are estimated to exceed $175.6 million, assisting survivors with retrofitting, risk reduction, structural elevation and other mitigation improvements.

Some recovery activities can’t be measured in dollars. For example, 57,045 survivors visited the 80 Disaster Recovery Centers FEMA opened, providing one-on-one assistance to Texans from multiple public and private resources available throughout the disaster area. FEMA Disaster Assistance crews visited more than 410,000 homes and 10,000 community locations to help residents apply and check on their needs. FEMA has provided more than one million nights in hotel rooms for households whose homes were too damaged to inhabit safely.

At this time, dozens of households are preparing to move into FEMA Direct Housing units where FEMA pays the landlord directly while residents’ seriously damaged homes are made livable again.

For more information about Texas disaster recovery, visit: fema.gov/disaster/4798. Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x.com/FEMARegion6 and on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.