Types of Disaster Assistance Available

AUSTIN – A major presidential disaster declaration was approved after the severe storms and flooding that occurred March 26-28, 2025, in Texas. It authorizes FEMA to provide assistance in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties.  

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

FEMA’s Individual Assistance program directly helps disaster survivors with uninsured or underinsured basic critical needs such as returning a home to a safe, sanitary, functional and accessible environment during their recovery from a disaster. 

Under Individual Assistance, FEMA provides several types of financial and direct assistance to eligible individuals and families. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Housing Assistance
  • Rental Assistance to rent alternate housing while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence. Rental Assistance and Continued Temporary Housing Assistance may be used to rent a house, apartment, manufactured home, recreational vehicle, or efficiency unit at a hotel or motel while your damaged residence is being repaired.
  • Lodging Expense Reimbursement for hotels, motels or other short-term lodging while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence.
  • Home Repair Assistance to help restore an owner-occupied, disaster-damaged primary residence to safe and sanitary condition.
  • Replacement Assistance to help homeowners replace an owner-occupied primary residence when it is destroyed by a disaster.
• Other Needs Assistance
  • Displacement: Helps with housing needs if you cannot return to your home because of the disaster.
  • Serious Needs Assistance: An upfront, flexible “per household” payment for essential items such as food, water, baby formula, breast-feeding supplies, medicine and other serious disaster-related needs. Note: This is not a reimbursement for loss of power or replacing food. It is intended for emergency needs only.
  • Childcare: Assistance for childcare expenses or an increase in childcare expenses caused by a disaster.
  • Medical/Dental: Assistance to help cover expenses related to disaster-caused injuries or illnesses.
  • Personal Property: Helps repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged in the disaster.
  • Transportation: Assistance to repair or replace a vehicle damaged by the disaster when you don’t have another vehicle to use.
  • Miscellaneous Items: Assistance that may help pay for specific items that were purchased or rented after the disaster to help you recover. For example, a chainsaw to help clear fallen trees that prevent safe access to your home.
  • Moving and Storage: Assistance moving and storing personal property from your home to prevent additional damage, usually while making repairs to your home or moving to a new place due to the disaster.

Learn more about FEMA’s Individual Assistance program at fema.gov/assistance/individual.

Disaster assistance to Texas for the March 26-28 severe storms and flooding includes:

• $34.2 million in FEMA awards to 6,541 individuals and households, including nearly $58,000 for rental of temporary housing and basic repair of damaged dwellings
• $2.4 million in U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans
• To meet survivors where they are, FEMA, SBA and the State of Texas are operating seven Disaster Recovery Centers in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties. More than 3,400 people have visited these centers.

Survivors in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties may apply for federal assistance if they had damage in the March 26-28 storms. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2025. 

There are several ways to apply. Visit a Disaster Recovery Center. To find a center close to you, go online to: DRC Locator, or text DRC along with your Zip Code to 43362 (Ex: DRC 78552). Go to DisasterAssistance.gov; download the FEMA App for mobile devices; or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. CT. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, you can give FEMA your number for that service. 

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, go to Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube

For more information, visit fema.gov/disaster/4871. Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x.com/FEMARegion6 and at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/