Governor Greg Abbott has amended the severe weather disaster declaration initially issued on April 30, 2024. The proclamation, which has undergone several amendments throughout May and early June, addresses the severe storms and flooding that began on April 26, 2024. These weather events included heavy rainfall, flash flooding, river flooding, large hail, and hazardous wind gusts causing widespread property damage and loss of life across numerous counties in Texas.
The affected counties include Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bailey, Bandera, Bastrop, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie, Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell Calhoun Cass Chambers Cherokee Clay Coleman Collin Colorado Comal Concho Cooke Coryell Dallas Delta Denton DeWitt Dickens Eastland Ellis Falls Fannin Fayette Freestone Galveston Gillespie Gonzales Gregg Grimes Guadalupe Hamilton Hardin Harris Haskell Hays Henderson Hill Hockley Hood Houston Hunt Jasper Jefferson Johnson Jones Karnes Kaufman Kendall Kerr Kimble Knox Lamar Lampasas Lavaca Lee Leon Liberty Limestone Llano Lynn Madison Mason McCulloch McLennan Medina Menard Midland Milam Mills Montague Montgomery Nacogdoches Navarro Newton Orange Panola Polk Red River Robertson Rockwall Rusk Sabine San Augustine San Jacinto San Saba Shelby Smith Somervell Sutton Tarrant Terrell Travis Trinity Tyler Van Zandt Walker Waller Washington Wichita Williamson Wilson.
In accordance with Section 418.014 of the Texas Government Code Governor Abbott has now declared a disaster in Hopkins and Titus counties as well. Under Section 418.017 of the same code he authorized the use of all available state government resources and political subdivisions necessary to cope with this disaster.
Furthermore any regulatory statute or rule that would prevent necessary action during this disaster shall be suspended upon written approval from the Office of the Governor according to Section 418.016 of the Texas Government Code. This includes statutes related to contracting or procurement if they impede emergency responses needed to protect life or property during this declared disaster.
The proclamation is officially signed by Governor Greg Abbott and attested by Secretary of State Jane Nelson in Austin Texas on June 13th 2024.