Tom Green County Declared Disaster Area

Commissioner Rick Bacon reported that Tom Green County is a disaster area at the commissioners' court this morning. Damages in the county total over $400,000 according to preliminary estimates, surpassing the emergency threshold of $392,000; therefore, the county is now eligible for disaster relief.

Bacon said emergency management coordinator Steve Mild plans to send documents to state agency handling disaster relief with a signature from the county judge declaring that Tom Green County is a disaster area.

“It’s been very difficult because we’re not like Wimberley, where a whole city block gets washed away and you got this mass area of destruction that you see immediately,” Bacon said. “Ours was widespread across Tom Green County.”

Bacon claimed that almost everyone in the county that lives along the North Concho River sustained some type of damage. Several homes were flooded, including a few cases that encountered six to eight inches of water. Other damages include lost livestock and even a motor home that washed away.

“I just want to make sure that if we’re going to be eligible for [relief from the state] that we make every opportunity available to get some relief for our constituents out there, whether they live in the city or the county,” Bacon said.

Flood victims have also had troubles with insurance. Bacon said that many are discovering that flood insurance covers only a fraction of the costs. Some victims don’t have flood insurance at all. These people have to pay the costs themselves. Flood relief from the state would potentially help cover these costs.

“Most of those folks are out there busy cleaning up,” Bacon said. “They haven’t thought about the fact that they need to call in and let us know what their damages are. Some of them have a hard time determining what the damage is because they don’t really know what it’ll cost.”

Bacon encourages locals to call in and report any damages caused by floods. Those who call Steve Mild at the Tom Green County Emergency Management office at 325-657-4230 or Bacon’s office at 325-659-6513 may be eligible for relief. Bacon estimates that damages across the county will total over $1 million.