Texas flood survivors journey to Washington DC to push for federal catastrophe support

KERRVILLE, Texas – Texas flood survivors are in Washington, D.C., urging federal leaders to ship catastrophe help they are saying households and companies must rebuild after devastating floods in Travis and Kerr counties.

Delegates from Texas and different states are asking for 2 principal types of assist: an Individual Assistance designation for the 2026 flood via FEMA and federal funding for the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, often known as CDBG-DR.

Individual Assistance will help pay for housing, unemployment help, case administration and authorized companies after a catastrophe. CDBG-DR is designed to assist long-term group restoration, however survivors and advocates say this system presently doesn’t have the funding wanted to assist affected residents return to steady housing.

Kerrville resident Claudia Limon traveled to Washington, D.C. to satisfy with lawmakers and advocate for households nonetheless struggling after the July flood.

Limon mentioned some residents stay displaced, whereas others reside in broken properties with mould as a result of they’ve nowhere else to go.

“I told her, this is dangerous,” Limon mentioned, describing one household’s residing situations. “But she said, I don’t have nowhere to go. So I want the help that they need. That’s why I’m here, so I can advocate for all these families that they don’t have a home to go to.”

Ashlee Willis, a flood survivor from Travis County and a member of the Sandy Creek Alliance, mentioned many individuals are nonetheless making an attempt to rebuild their lives with out the long-term assist they want.

“We have a ton of people just hanging out there right now, trying to survive on the daily basis, rebuilding their lives,” Willis mentioned. “And there are systems in place to help that. And we’re here to get that system allocated.”

The group, made up of about 30 delegates from a number of states, can be calling on U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and others to assist federal motion.

In Kerrville, the monetary toll stays extreme for native companies.

The Kerrville Chamber of Commerce mentioned companies obtained $2.3 million in group donations after the 2025 flood. After the 2026 flood, that quantity dropped to $268,000.

Several companies have closed as a result of they may not afford to rebuild.

Grassroots organizers say they hope stress from residents, advocates and elected officers will assist unlock federal funding for catastrophe victims now and sooner or later.

They are encouraging group members to contact their senators and urge assist for catastrophe restoration help.

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