Bexar County homeowners affected by winter storms can now apply for federal disaster assistance

Homeowners and residents of Bexar County in the other 77 designated counties affected by this week’s devastating winter storm can now apply for federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Prior to this, President Joe Biden partially approved Governor Abbott’s request for a major disaster statement. The approval was announced on Saturday afternoon.

Related: President Biden partially approved Governor Abbott’s request to declare a major disaster

According to officials, if you have insurance and are applying for disaster assistance, you must also file a claim with the insurance company as soon as possible.

According to the law, FEMA cannot replicate benefits for losses covered by insurance. If the insurance cannot cover all your losses, you may be eligible for federal assistance.

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The 77 counties eligible for assistance include:

Angelina, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brasoria, Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun , Cameron, Chambers, Colin, Comal, Comanche, Cook, Correll, Dallas, Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Fall, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gillespie, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harding, Harris, Hayes, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hood, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lava Card, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Mavericks, McLennan, Montagu, Montgomery, Nacoducci, Nueces, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rock Wall, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Scurry, Shelby, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Travis, Taylor, Upshur, Van Zand, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wharton , Wichita, Williamson, Wilson and Wise.

When you apply for help, make sure you have the following information available:

• The phone number where you can currently be reached

• Your address at the time of the disaster and your current address

• Your social security number (if any)

• General list of damage and loss

• If insured, the insurance policy number or agent and company name

If it is safe, officials said they recommend starting to clean up and take pictures to document the damage, and start repairs to prevent further damage.

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Officials said that all purchase receipts related to cleaning and maintenance should also be kept.

For more information, please contact SBA at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 800-877-8339), or visit www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.