The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied a request for federal aid to individuals needing help after the July 2026 floods in Texas, which swamped homes in Uvalde and damaged properties across Kerr County — in some cases for a second time in two years.
Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are reviewing the decision and the process for appealing it, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Disaster recovery experts say FEMA individual assistance funding is a critical way for residents to cover short-term costs such as making houses livable again, paying for hotels or other temporary housing and replacing lost items.
“FEMA individual assistance was the big thing people were counting on and looking towards to be able to help them rebuild in a significant way,” said Allison Brim-Estelle, a field director with a national association for disaster survivors called Rebuild.
FEMA said in a statement it was committed to helping the state recover and reviews requests for help closely, including by considering factors such as insurance coverage, other recent disasters, the profile of the population impacted, disaster-related unemployment and stat...