- Weather Impact Alert: Brad Panovich updates severe weather risk on Sunday
- Big March storm system threatens US with tornadoes, blizzards and wildfire risk
- As city leaders consider expanding at-risk zone for wildfire damage, home builders say it could raise costs
- Is your neighborhood at high wildfire risk? | Here's how to check the city's wildfire risk map
- 'Be prepared now': Brad Panovich updates severe weather risk for Sunday
Disaster declaration issued for Harris County following tornado
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency in Harris County including much of the southeast Houston area Thursday afternoon, two days after severe storms and a destructive tornado rocked the region.
“The disaster declaration… will further support the State of Texas’ recovery efforts in response to extensive damage sustained due to tornadic activity in Pasadena, Deer Park, and neighboring Southeast Texas communities,” according to a Thursday afternoon release announcing the declaration.
“The state of Texas is ready to assist Texans and businesses impacted by tornados in Southeast Texas communities,” Gov. Abbott said in the release.
According to the release, Abbott deployed personnel from the Texas Division of Emergency Management on Wednesday to assess the extent of the damage in affected areas. Local responders will work alongside TDEM officials for the rest of the week to continue assessments, according to the release.
TDEM has also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “provide personnel to participate in joint preliminary damage assessments to certify the damage,” officials said in the release. “This effort will help determine whether Texas meets federal requirements for disaster assistance,” they continued.
Abbott urged Texan’s to complete TDEM’s self-reporting damage survey to “help emergency officials gain an understanding of damages that occurred during the recent severe weather and expedite federal disaster assistance,” officials wrote in Thursday’s release.
A line of severe storms ripped through the Houston area on Tuesday, causing flash floods and a devastating tornado in the southeast Houston area. The system left a path of serious structural damage to homes and businesses behind it and knocked out power for tens of thousands, prompting closures of major roadways.
The National Weather Service issued its first ever Tornado Emergency in response to Tuesday’s destructive twister, a more urgent version of a tornado warning that is “issued when there is a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from an imminent or ongoing tornado.”