Monday was the final day for households to register for relief aid from storms and flooding between June 16 and Aug. 3.
As of Tuesday night, Bell County had 349 households registered, with a total of $397,062 approved by FEMA. Housing assistance made up $375,417 of the total and the remaining $21,645 fell under other needs.
For Coryell County, 414 households registered. Out of a total of $301,107, $277,556 went to housing assistance and $23,551 funded other needs.
Lampasas County held the lowest number of household registrants with 196 registered. FEMA approved $129,969 for housing assistance and $9,039 for other needs - a total count of $139,008.
FEMA spokesman Richard O’Reilly said these numbers won’t be the final tally.
“That amount will grow because claims processing is not completed,” O’Reilly said.
O’Reilly said households who have registered will still have time to submit their applications for assistance.
Overall, the federal government has approved more than $77 million for disaster aid .
More than $20 million was made available for disaster housing assistance in 43 Texas counties through its Individual Assistance Program. Nearly $5 million was also set aside for the Other Needs Assistance Program, focusing on medical and dental care, transportation and household items and clothing.
Pct. 4 Bell County Commissioner John Fisher said a larger number of claims would have been filed from Bell County had the government extended the date to May 22.
“The floods hit and the tornado hit but they hit three weeks before,” Fisher said. “So the disaster did not include that time frame.”
County officials pushed for the extension in July, reasoning that storms before the June 16 cut off saturated the ground, making the county more susceptible to flooding.
“Had we caught those dates, we would have a lot more people get help that needed it,” Fisher said.
While some households may have registered on time, there’s always the possibility of receiving a denial letter from FEMA.
For residents receiving those letters, O’Reilly said there’s no need to fret.
“That may not be the end of the story for a person,” O’Reilly said.
Often times, victims may be eligible for assistance but their applications may be lacking pertinent information.
It may be necessary to return insurance information, provide information to prove occupancy or ownership of the damaged property, fill out all paperwork or complete and return the U.S. Small Business Administration loan application.
For those who will receive aid, O’Reilly said it will be a starting point for residents dealing with devastation.
“It gets them started back toward getting their houses repaired, restoring their lives as they were before the floods,” O’Reilly said.
