Texas Border Business
The State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and FEMA partner to help bring legal assistance to Texas residents
AUSTIN, Following the recent flooding and severe weather in Texas, the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have partnered to help provide free legal assistance to individuals affected by the storms. A toll-free legal hotline (800-504-7030) is available to connect low-income individuals affected by the disaster with local legal aid providers who can help with:
- Assistance securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster victims;
- Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;
- Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
- Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;
- Consumer protection issues such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;
- Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems; and
- Counseling on landlord-tenant problems
The hotline is available 24/7 and callers can leave a message any time. Individuals who qualify for assistance will be matched with Texas lawyers who have volunteered to provide free, limited legal help.
Major Disaster Declaration
On November 25, 2015, President Barack Obama issued a major disaster declaration for Texas. As a result, federal disaster aid was made available to the State of Texas. FEMA ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period beginning October 22 – 31, 2015. To date, federal assistance has been extended to 16 Texas counties, including Bastrop, Brazoria, Caldwell, Comal, Cameron, Galveston, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, Liberty, Navarro, Travis, Willacy, and Wilson counties. Likewise, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also issued an emergency proclamation on November 20, 2015, declaring a state of disaster in these same Texas counties.
Texans who sustained property damage as a result of the ongoing severe storms and flooding are urged to register with FEMA, as they may be eligible for federal and state disaster assistance. People who sustained storm damage in the affected counties above can register for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or Web-enabled device at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Flood survivors statewide are also encouraged to call this hotline to report their damage. Other flooding resources may be found on the State Bar of Texas website at: texasbar.com/floodresponse.
