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President declares emergency disaster for Texas due to wildfires
By Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Mar 16, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that the President yesterday declared an emergency exists in the state of Texas and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the area struck by wildfires beginning on March 14, 2008, and continuing. FEMA Administrator David Paulison said that the President's action makes authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Anderson, Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Atascosa, Bailey, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Brewster, Briscoe, Brooks, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Callahan, Carson, Castro, Cherokee, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Dimmit, Duval, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Frio, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gonzales, Gray, Grayson, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall, Hamilton, Hansford, Hardeman, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hidalgo, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Howard, Hudspeth, Hunt, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Johnson, Jones, Karnes, Kaufman, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Knox, LaSalle, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Liberty, Limestone, Lipscomb, Live Oak, Llano, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Montgomery, Moore, Motley, Navarro, Nolan, Nueces, Oldham, Orange, Palo Pinto, Parker, Parmer, Pecos, Potter, Presidio, Rains, Randall, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Refugio, Robertson, Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk, San Saba, Schleicher, Somervell, Starr, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Ward, Washington, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson, Winkler, Wise, Young, Zapata, and Zavala. Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. Paulison named Kenneth G. Clark as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FEDERAL AID PROGRAMS FOR TEXAS EMERGENCY DISASTER RECOVERY
Following is a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that can be made available as needed and warranted under President Bush’s major disaster declaration issued for Texas."Emergency" is any occasion or instance in which the president determines that federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts to save lives and protect property and public health and safety or to avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.
Assistance for the State and Affected Local Governments Can Include as Required:
• Emergency protective measures limited to direct Federal assistance for removing debris from public areas and for emergency measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
• Initial FEMA-administered aid is limited to $5 million. If limit is exceeded, the president reports on the nature and extent of continuing emergency assistance requirements to Congress before approving further federal aid.
How to Apply for Assistance:
• Application procedures for local governments will be explained at a series of federal/state applicant briefings with locations to be announced in the affected area by recovery officials. Approved public repair projects are paid through the state from funding provided by FEMA and other participating federal agencies.
FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.