Only about one-fifth of federal disaster assistance applicants from Texas' Kerr County have so far been found eligible for financial assistance, leaving hundreds of people without government aid more than three months after the devastating July 4 flood that devastated the county.
As of Oct. 11, FEMA officials had moved only 46 percent of Kerr County's individual and household program applications to the next stage, where they are evaluated for money, a Texas Tribune analysis of federal data shows.
This means that 1,749 applications out of 3,228 have still not been processed after the initial stage.
And among the applications from Kerr County that officials reviewed for specific funding, FEMA found that only 704 applications met the criteria — or about 22 percent. The agency denied 775 applications, mainly because people did not respond or withdrew their applications.
For comparison: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace researcher Sarah Labovitz discovered that After 170 disasters from 2015 to May 2024, FEMA found that 39 percent of applicants for individual and family assistance were eligible.
The low rate of calls and approvals contrasts with nine other central Texas counties that suffered significant flood damage over the holiday weekend. Other counties had fewer applicants, reported less significant damage, and received a higher proportion of approvals from FEMA. The agency has approved $37 million so far.
That disparity has advocates questioning what's happening in Kerr County, where most of the flood deaths occurred when the Guadalupe River rose early on the morning of July 4th.
FEMA did not respond to requests for comment for this story. The agency is not operating at full capacity during the federal government shutdown; Earlier this year, the White House called for a “full-scale overhaul” of FEMA, which President Donald Trump has threatened to eliminate.
After a disaster, FEMA money is intended to cover the cost of hotels or rentals, home renovations to make them habitable, and medical and transportation expenses. Without it, people are missing out on an important resource, especially if they don't have insurance, savings or credit, says Maddie Sloan, director of the Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing Project at the nonprofit policy and advocacy group Texas Appleseed, which I also track approvals.
“If you've lost everything and don't have access to other resources, this is where you can get help with housing, where you can get help with the car you need to get to work, the computer and books your child needs to go back to school,” Sloan said.
In Kerr County, nonprofits are helping fill the gaps. First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville allocated $250,000, received in private donations, to repair roofs, replace vehicles or pay rent, among other things. He received an additional $557,500 from the Texas Hill Country Community Foundation, which has raised a whopping $100 million and is looking to help the region recover.
Bailey Havis, a church supervisor, heard the harrowing stories of flood victims as she helped them: a mom who survived by clinging to what she called the “tree of life”; people whose family reunion took place at the River Inn, one of the first places hit by the flood; a travel nurse living in a travel trailer whose husband invited his parents to stay nearby for the 4th of July holiday. His parents died. They also lost the trailer.
“These are our people, and we want them to make a full recovery — and that will be many years — but to a physical recovery as soon as possible,” Havis said.
The fund now covers the salary of Havis, a Kerrville native who grew up attending church. She is a pediatric nurse by training and was hired by the church shortly after the flood to help connect people with resources. She said the foundation can help without requiring them to wade through a mountain of paperwork.
Even people who received FEMA assistance felt some disappointment with what they received compared to their needs, said church pastor Jasiel Hernandez Garcia.
For some, he said, “It's really minimal.”
Most refusals are due to lack of response or voluntary refusal to participate.
Why FEMA does not forward Kerr County's applications for assessment is not revealed in the data, but they do have some commonalities.
They are predominantly over 50 years old and mostly apply online rather than through a call center, a Tribune analysis found. Most reported damage in Kerrville.
For those denied assistance by FEMA, the primary reason is failure to respond to the agency or voluntary refusal.
Advocates say cell service in the area is spotty, and not everyone has easy access to the Internet and computers to contact FEMA. After a disaster, people may not even have a phone or may not be comfortable using online forms. They may not be emotionally ready to gather all the necessary information.
Without federal help, people may leave the area because they can't afford to make it livable again, said Brittany Perrig Gomez, an attorney and manager of the disaster relief group of RioGrande Legal Aid of Texas. Not having enough money to pay for home repairs can also lead to other problems if people are unable to pay other bills.
“People need to be able to start recovering financially, and the first way to do that is to get back into a safe place to live,” Gomez said.
The organization is currently working on more than 140 cases from Kerr and surrounding counties, many of which require assistance with FEMA applications. Common problems include people who do not have clear title to homes or RVs they have built, as well as homes they have informally inherited. Others told the group they didn't think they were getting enough money to make their homes safe to live in, Gomez said.
FEMA no longer sends People are knocking on doors to tell flood victims how they can sign up for help and answer questions about what's needed to apply, Sloan said. It's also unclear whether those denied understand why or whether they can appeal FEMA's decision. And FEMA now requires an email address for applications, which not everyone has.
“It’s another burden for someone who just went through one of the worst days of their life,” Sloan said.
Nonprofits take action
Austin Dixon, CEO of a community foundation, hosted family at his Kerrville-area home for the Fourth of July holiday. The night before the storm, they played board games and went to bed late. By the time Dixon woke up, drank a cup of coffee and looked at his phone, he saw numerous messages and alerts. He began to realize that something bad had happened.
Texas Hill Country Community Foundation staff knew from helping after past disasters that philanthropy could play an important role. They created a relief fund at 9:48 a.m. on July 4th.
“We had no idea what was coming next,” Dixon said.
According to Dixon, the fund began its work when the scale of the destruction became apparent. More than 100 People died in Kerr County, including generations of families vacationing near the river and 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic.
The Foundation worked carefully and quickly; it came out By the end of July, $11.9 million will be allocated to local nonprofits to provide cash assistance to victims and small businesses, as well as to help volunteer firefighters and shelters. In the first weeks, families received an average of $5,000.
“Help has come to the right place,” Dixon said, adding: [financial aid] Government resources are not used in the first and second week and therefore in those early days when resources are available, it is necessary for philanthropy to intervene as early as possible. That was what we decided to do and I think it was the right choice.”
The foundation then supported a variety of long-term housing, mental health and community resources. It allocated money to renovate homes, replace RVs used as primary housing, pay rent for temporary housing and fund 28 case managers to be hired by various nonprofit organizations. These case managers will aim to work with the 673 flood victims who contacted the fund for help.
“Every dollar matters,” said Michelle Meyer, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University and director of the Center for Risk Reduction and Recovery. “People who typically end up in the nonprofit system are usually uninsured or underinsured. They may have people in their home with disabilities. Older people [folks] many times find themselves in the recovery field of non-profit organizations. You need every dollar to try to get people back.”
Airbnb.orgthe nonprofit founded by Airbnb five years ago has provided emergency housing to several hundred first responders and people with flooded homes. The foundation awarded the group $1.6 million to provide housing for up to a year for 60 individuals or families whose homes were damaged by flooding, especially those with limited finances.
“These are the people we really want to make sure they don't go unnoticed,” said Christophe Gorder, the nonprofit's executive director.
Disclosure: Texas Appleseed provides financial support to The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial support plays no role in Tribune journalism. Find complete their list is here.
