President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Approves Texas Disaster Declaration

FEBRUARY 20, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Yesterday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of
Texas and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas
affected by severe winter storms beginning on February 11, 2021, and continuing.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of
Angelina, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brazos, Brown, Burleson,
Caldwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Collin, Comal, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas,
Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Falls, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gillespie, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin,
Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hood, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lavaca,
Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Maverick, McLennan, Montague, Montgomery, Nacogdoches,
Nueces, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rockwall, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio,
Scurry, Shelby, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Travis, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker,
Waller, Wharton, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson, and Wise.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover
uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover
from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain private
nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures and hazard
mitigation measures statewide.

Robert J. Fenton, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Jerry S. Thomas as
the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by
the results of further damage assessments.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/20/president-
joseph-r-biden-jr-approves-texas-disaster-declaration/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK
AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
Millions without power and 21 dead
as ferocious winter weather sweeps
US
Ferocious winter weather sweeping across large parts of the central and southern US has
brought record-breaking cold temperatures, left millions without power and killed at
least 21 people across multiple states.
The worst power outages were in Texas, where more than 4m homes and
businesses remained without power on Tuesday in subfreezing temperatures. Elsewhere
more than 250,000 people also lost power across parts of Appalachia, and 4 million
people lost power in Mexico. Another quarter-million were without electricity following
an ice storm in north-west Oregon.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/16/texas-weather-snow-storm-latest-news-
power-outages-deaths
Texas sees one of its coldest winters
in decades as temperatures drop
Greg Abbott, the governor, issued a disaster declaration for every
county in the state as conditions continued to get colder
Texas is experiencing one of its coldest winter in decades, with temperatures expected to
drop to as low as 11F (-12C) in Houston and 9F (-13C) in San Antonio under a winter
storm warning.
The governor, Greg Abbott, issued a disaster declaration for every county in the state on
Friday, as temperatures continued to get colder over the weekend. The White House
also issued a federal emergency declaration for Texas, authorizing the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to provide additional support to the state.

Snow and ice blanket US north-west, leaving hundreds of thousands without

power
“Every part of the state of Texas will face freezing conditions. That includes all the way
down to Brownsville, Texas, over the coming days,” Abbott said in a press conference.
“In many of those locations across the state of Texas, the high temperature for the day
will be in the single digits.”
Warnings were issued by other government officials across the state, including
Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, who cited concerns about icy road conditions and
urge people to not drive and stay home. Last Thursday, the city of Fort Worth saw a
pileup of up to 100 cars, where six people died and several others were injured.