Governor Abbott issues disaster declaration for counties impacted by flash flooding
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for the 23 counties that were impacted by the historic flooding this week.
Abbott held a press conference at Dallas City Hall on Aug. 23, providing an update on the state's ongoing response to the severe weather and flash flooding.
In the span of 24 hours, North Texas got 9.19" of rain. The record rainfall has deemed this August the wettest so far for Dallas-Fort Worth.
"No challenge is too great for Texans to address, and I commend Mayor Johnson, the City of Dallas, and emergency response personnel for their prolific life-saving response to yesterday's unprecedented flooding event in North Texas," Abbott said. "The State of Texas will be ready and available to help all impacted communities every step of the way as they begin to navigate the recovery process in the aftermath of this storm. I ask Texans to join Cecilia and me in prayer for all communities affected by this severe weather and for the family and loved ones of Jolene Jarrell who lost her life in the flooding."
The following counties are included in the disaster declaration: Camp, Culberson, Dallas, Duval, Ellis, El Paso, Henderson, Hopkins, Hudspeth, Kaufman, Kerr, Live Oak, Marion, Montague, Navarro, Pecos, Rains, Smith, Tarrant, Upshur, Van Zandt, Webb, and Wood.
As a result of the flooding, there are 28 damaged Dallas police vehicles. During the press conference, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said that the police department is "doing our very best to get the cars that are under routine maintenance...to get out of maintenance and get back in service as quickly as possible" to use in place of the damaged vehicles. He continued to say help is on the way.
On Aug. 22, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared a state of disaster for Dallas County and on Aug. 23, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley issued a disaster declaration for Tarrant County.
Officials are asking those impacted by flooding to report damages to their insurance companies in addition to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
