Tom Green County, San Angelo win FEMA individual assistance; disaster center to open Monday

Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter announced that the county and the City of San Angelo have received a Federal Emergency Management Agency Individual Assistance (IA) designation under the presidential major disaster declaration, crediting volunteer damage-assessment efforts that officials said increased entries from roughly 80–85 to more than 1,500.

The IA designation makes survivors eligible for FEMA individual assistance programs that may cover home repair, rental and housing assistance and personal-property losses, Jose Rivera, the city’s emergency management coordinator, said. Rivera directed residents to register online at damageassistance.gov to submit an application and said officials have requested FEMA caseworkers be sent to San Angelo to provide in-person help.

Officials also said they have applied for a Public Assistance (PA) declaration for city and county agencies to recover response costs such as overtime, equipment use and facility damage. Rivera said PA would help agencies recoup operational expenses incurred during the flood response.

The city and county will relocate the Disaster Resource Center from Paul Ann Baptist Church to the Concho Valley Transit annex at Loop 306 and Chadbourne. Beginning Monday the center will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with nonprofits and volunteers on hand to assist survivors with FEMA paperwork.

Rivera said the Small Business Administration has issued a disaster declaration for San Angelo and Tom Green County, making local businesses eligible for SBA assistance including Economic Injury Disaster Loans and home-disaster loans; the Angelo State University Small Business Development Center will offer local help to business owners.

Officials asked residents in affected neighborhoods to continue submitting ISTAT damage-assessment forms and to call 211 for information. "Continue to fill out your ISTAT forms," Judge Lane Carter said; "this is only going to help us in the long run." The city and COAD will post updates on sanangelo.gov/julyfourth, the City of San Angelo and United Way of the Concho Valley Facebook pages.

Next steps: officials said they will notify the public when FEMA caseworkers arrive and when emergency grants begin distribution. "Once FEMA arrives in San Angelo to help people with casework, we're gonna let everyone know so that everyone can ask FEMA directly in person," Rivera said.