President Joe Biden has approved Texas’ request for a federal emergency disaster declaration to cover the cost of damages caused by Hurricane Beryl and help affected citizens. He also said the aid would have come sooner if state officials had responded more quickly.
In X/Twitter, Biden said he had spoken with Mayor John Whitmire, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is in Asia. He also addressed power outages and the extreme heat Texas could experience after the storm.
“Following Beryl, I know Texans are concerned about power outages and extreme heat,” Biden wrote. “That’s why we’ve moved generators into the community to help reduce impacts of power outages and are staging water, meals, and tarps to keep families healthy.”
However, in an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Biden said he tried to contact both Abbott and Patrick to get the necessary request to release federal aid sooner, but they did not respond to him until today.
“I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden said.
Abbott flew to Asia on Friday knowing the Hurricane would hit Texas.
Patrick released a statement over the federal aid, and said there was “no delay from the White House, no delay from us.”
“I have requested through FEMA to cover all costs for Category A (Debris) and Category B (Emergency Protective Measures),” Patrick wrote. “FEMA’s assistance with these costs will expedite the recovery process and help ensure the safety of Texans impacted by Hurricane Beryl. The president granted my request.”
According to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the emergency declaration will grant 75% reimbursement for debris cleanup for all 121 impacted counties.
