Texas Formally Appeals FEMA's Flood Aid Denial as Trump Promises More Help for the Hill Country

Hill Country families who were turned down for federal flood aid got two pieces of news on Tuesday. The state of Texas formally asked FEMA to change its mind, and President Donald Trump said more help is on the way.

Neither has said yet how much, through which program, or when.

The state's appeal

Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider its denial of individual assistance for 20 of the 30 counties where people needed help after the July floods, The Texas Tribune reported. According to letters dated Oct. 27 and obtained by News 4 San Antonio, those counties include Kerr, Uvalde, Bexar, Kendall and Zavala.

Individual assistance is the part of FEMA aid that goes to households. It can help cover hotel stays, emergency home repairs and replacing lost belongings. FEMA denied the state's request earlier this month, though it had approved some help for local governments.

Kidd also appealed FEMA's denial of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program money for 24 counties already approved for public assistance. That program pays for work that helps communities prepare for the next disaster. Both appeals are separate from an earlier FEMA denial of additional public assistance for eight counties, News 4 reported.

What the state says the floods did

The appeal says 3,774 homes and small businesses were reported damaged. TDEM has validated 2,944 of those reports, including 132 properties destroyed and 618 with major damage. FEMA has separately validated 2,186, with 75 more awaiting review. At least three people died.

In Kerr County, the state counted 21 homes destroyed and 242 with major damage. In Uvalde County, it reported four homes destroyed and 171 with major damage, News 4 reported in a follow-up. A review of American Red Cross records found 239 requests for shelter or temporary housing, including 77 in Uvalde County and 51 in Kerr County. The state says it has spent more than $37.7 million responding to the disaster.

Many of these are the same communities hit by the deadly July 2025 floods. In Kerr County, 135 households were still in temporary housing from the 2025 disaster when the 2026 flooding struck, and 98 more were still working toward permanent housing, according to the state. Ten counties received public assistance after both disasters.

"These losses occurred amid widespread rescue and evacuation operations and underscore the significant human impact experienced across the affected communities," Kidd wrote.

In the mitigation appeal, the state said Texas has committed more than $280 million to relief, preparedness and mitigation since the 2025 floods, including $50 million for flood warning systems and gauges. It said less than half of 1% of FEMA money sent to Texas since January 2025 has gone to mitigation. It also estimated that the requested grants could reduce future damage by about $60 million.

Trump's promise

Speaking at a Republican campaign rally in Corpus Christi the same day, Trump said he would free up more relief. "And at the request of Ken Paxton and Senator Ted Cruz, I'm pleased to announce that I will be making available more FEMA relief funds from this year's floods in Texas Hill Country," he said. "So we'll work that out on Monday." He did not say how much money, which communities would qualify, or whether it would include aid to individual households.

On Tuesday, Cruz and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, had written to Trump urging him to approve the appeal. "FEMA's assessment does not accurately reflect the critical resources needed to help communities across our state recover," they wrote. Cruz said he later spoke with Trump aboard Air Force One.

The pushback has come from both parties. "The denial of aid is unacceptable, and Texas should not accept it without a fight," state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday. "These Texans have already suffered more than anyone should have to endure."

Under Trump, FEMA has been trying to shift the main responsibility for emergency response to the states, the Tribune reported.

Survivors want help, not politics

Kylie Nidever of Hunt told News 4 that families are still struggling to make their homes livable. "People are living in homes that are moldy or have holes in them, in their roof or in their floor," she said. "Like we need help, we don't need this political jockeying. We don't want to be manipulated and used." She questioned the timing of the announcement, which came days before the Nov. 3 election. "We've been waiting three months for help, for FEMA to show up," she said.

Claudia Limon of Kerrville said Town Creek rose near her home while her mother was recovering from surgery. Her family was safe, but she worries about neighbors who lost their homes. "It hurts me a lot because I can sleep in a bed, and they can't," she told News 4.

"Families are still trying to put their lives back together, and denying them federal disaster assistance only adds to their suffering," said Dondi Voigt Persyn, whose organization helped people find lost items in the Hill Country after the 2025 flood. Her statement was sent by the advocacy group Extreme Weather Survivors, which has given financial support to the Tribune.

What to do now

Separately, the IRS has pushed certain federal tax filing and payment deadlines to Feb. 1, 2027, for eligible taxpayers in 62 Texas counties hit by the July storms, including Bexar, Kerr and Uvalde, News 4 reported.

If you were flooded in July, keep every receipt, photo and repair estimate. You will need them if the appeal succeeds or new aid opens. In the meantime, ask your church and local recovery groups what help is available.

For two summers now, neighbors and congregations in the Hill Country have carried much of this load. A promise from a rally stage is welcome. A program families can actually apply to would be better.