Dallas County residents can report flood damage, following county disaster declaration

Correction at 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2022: Corrected to note that there is a cap on FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) financial assistance.

After a day of record-breaking rainfall, at least one fatality, and hundreds of traffic and water-related emergency calls, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is asking residents to apply for financial assistance.

Jenkins declared a state of disaster on Monday afternoon, opening up potential federal financial assistance opportunities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has multiple potential buckets of financial help options available now that Dallas County has declared a disaster.

Federal help is still up in the air because the federal government also has to declare the floods to be a disaster to unlock the funds.

The county judge was unhappy with FEMA’s disaster relief rejection during the October 2019 tornado that caused upward of $190 million in public infrastructure damage in Dallas County.

“We’re hopeful that the decision will be different here if we have similar types of damage,” he said.

One of the steps in receiving federal disaster relief requires state declaration. On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration, for 23 counties, including Dallas County. President Joe Biden would still need to approve the disaster request before FEMA funds would be released, FEMA Spokesperson Melissa Wilkins said.

For public buildings, roads and bridges, Texas has a threshold of $49 million dollars per disaster event for government agencies.

A separate bucket of assistance can go toward property owners and renters, even for apartments. If the disaster is federally declared for Dallas County, the maximum amount of FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) financial assistance allocated to an individual or household is $37,900 for housing assistance and $37,900 for other needs.

“You might have flood insurance on your house, but you also sustained some damages that aren’t covered by the insurance, then you would qualify for assistance,” Jenkins said.

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Those who are insured and have been told their insurance companies will cover all the damage should still apply because, even if the applicant does not receive federal help, it can help others, Jenkins said.

“Their showing their damage and putting it in, filling out the forms, will help their neighbors as well,” he said. “Let’s get as much assistance for as many people as we can, call it for as many people who need it.”

Sometimes water damage leads to longer-term problems, including mold, rust and electrical shortages. Jenkins said federal dollars can cover these costs, also.

The state application can be filled out online at damage.tdem.texas.gov, and applicants can upload photos of the damage.

Business owners also can apply for low- or no-interest-rate loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration following this declaration.

Jenkins said by Monday afternoon he had already seen hundreds of homes across the county that could apply. He headed from downtown Dallas to the Balch Springs Recreation Center, where the American Red Cross helped displaced residents into hotel rooms. Entire homes were flooded, he said.

On the way back to Dallas, he said, he saw four accidents on U.S 175 in the span of 20 minutes. One woman hit a curve at Bruton Road too quickly and spun into another lane. Jenkins and staff got out of their car to push her car off the road.

“While we’re out there messing with her car and making sure she’s in a safe spot — bang — a truck comes around the corner. He hits a wall near where she hit the wall and comes right at us, lands a short distance away from us,” Jenkins said. “That happens two more times while we’re out there.”

Ultimately, Jenkins said, he hopes Dallas County won’t lose any more lives to the high water. A woman was pronounced dead this afternoon after she was found in her car on the Scyene Road bridge at the Interstate 635 Service Road in Mesquite as the water receded.

“I’m hopeful that we won’t lose any more lives,” he said. “Turn around, don’t drown. It only takes a small amount of water to move your car.”