FEMA Grants Extension for Texas' Tornado Disaster Declaration

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving Texas officials a few more weeks to request federal disaster relief funds for damage caused by an outbreak of tornadoes in October.

In a letter dated Friday, Dec. 13, FEMA Deputy Associate Administrator David Bibo granted a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 12 that a second time extension be granted to allow the state to continue to assess damages caused by severe storms, straight-line winds and the outbreak of tornadoes.

"The basis of your request is that due to the size of the impacted area, the complexity of the disaster, and the need to distinguish damages sustained during the incident period, additional time is needed to complete the joint Preliminary Damage Assessments that have been ongoing since Oct. 28, 2019," Bibo stated in his letter.

Based on the state's extenuating circumstances, the extension was granted and approved until Jan. 19, 2020.

A day after the storms, Abbott issued a state disaster declaration for 16 North Texas counties, freeing up state resources to aid in the storm recovery.