While the disaster assistance registration deadline has passed, there is still help available for survivors of February’s severe winter storms in Texas. Survivors are part of the whole community effort. The steps they take on their road to recovery and the decisions they make are very important.
Survivors may do the following:
Stay in Touch with FEMA — If you registered for disaster assistance following the February severe winter storms, stay in touch with FEMA. The easiest way to update your application, check your status or provide missing information is to create an account at DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. CT daily.
Call 2-1-1 for Unmet Needs — 2-1-1 Texas is a program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that is committed to helping Texas citizens connect with the services they need. No matter where you live in Texas, you can dial 2-1-1, or 877-541-7905, and find information about resources in your local community including help finding food or housing, childcare, crisis counseling or substance-abuse treatment.
Contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — HUD offers programs to assist both homeowners and renters. Visit HUD online or call the Federal Housing Authority Resource Center at 800- 225-5342.
Follow Up on Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Loans — If you applied for an SBA loan after the disaster declaration and want to follow up or have any questions about your loan, call the SBA at 800-659- 2955 (TTY:800-877-8339) or visit www.sba.gov/disaster.
Appeal FEMA’s Disaster Assistance Determination Letter — If you are found to be ineligible for disaster assistance following the winter storms, or you feel the award amount is insufficient, you have the right to an appeal. Carefully read your determination letter to understand why the decision was made and how you can receive the assistance you need. For more information, you may contact the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585).
Disaster Distress Support — Survivors can call and speak to a trained professional who can help them cope with anxiety or stress and guide them to available resources. This multilingual, confidential crisis support service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-985-5990 (TTY: 800-846-8517) or text TalkWithUs (Spanish speakers, text Hablanos) to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
Hazard Mitigation Information — For information and resources on mitigation issues, survivors may visit https://fema.connectsolutions.com/txmit and https://fema.connectsolutions.com/tx-es-mit. Survivors also may call mitigation outreach specialists at 833-FEMA-4-US or 833-336-2487 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday, for help and information on repairing and rebuilding.
Tax Filing Extension — The Internal Revenue Service has announced that survivors of the Texas winter storms will receive automatic extensions on their tax filing deadlines beyond the May 17 extended deadline. They now have until June 15 to file their returns.
If you don’t have internet access or need services not found on the website, you may call FEMA’s toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585) between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. CT daily to:
Add or change household members and number of occupants
Update contact preferences (mail, email, text, etc.)
Update payment preference
Notify FEMA of a change in your current address
Correct or verify home and property damage
Callers should refer to their nine-digit registration number, which can be found on all communications from FEMA.
