EL PASO, Texas — State help is now formally on the table for El Paso County after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a state disaster declaration Thursday in response to the heavy rain and flooding that has hit parts of the county over the past week.
The state order follows a local disaster declaration that El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego signed Tuesday. County officials said downpours on Oct. 23 and Oct. 25 caused severe flooding and property damage and forced numerous residents out of their homes. Families in a Horizon City neighborhood were among those who had to evacuate.
Abbott was in El Paso the same day for a reelection campaign event and told supporters that more than 50 homes had been damaged or washed away. He said the declaration makes the full resources of the state available for local response and recovery, and crews from the Texas Division of Emergency Management that he sent earlier remain in place.
The county order, which rests on Chapter 418 of the state Government Code, lets local officials activate emergency management and recovery work and put county resources toward helping affected residents.
Anyone with storm damage is urged to file a report through the state iSTAT self-reporting survey at damage.tdem.texas.gov once it is safe. Emergency managers use those reports to size up losses, see whether the area meets the thresholds for federal disaster aid and figure out what help is needed right away.
Officials warned that more rain could bring renewed flooding, erosion and damage, and reminded drivers never to steer into water over a roadway.
Filed under: El Paso TX Weather News
