Disaster declarations hope to bring reimbursement to Hidalgo County

PALMVIEW, Texas(ValleyCentral) — The City of Palmview and Hidalgo County have both filed disaster declarations following Friday's storm. 

A declaration will allow cities or counties to appeal for reimbursement after a disaster if it surpasses their response capabilities.

"Well, a disaster declaration is really a tool that we have, that once a county judge like myself declares that it puts, it puts us in a position for the governor either to agree or disagree with us. And when the governor agrees with us, then it allows us, it puts us in line to possibly be reimbursed for any damages that we have resulting from the storm by either T-DEM or FEMA," Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said.     

The county needs to have experienced nearly 4 million dollars in damages to qualify for up to 75 percent in reimbursement from the federal government.

"Unfortunately, here in this area, a lot of our rural areas have low values compared to an urban area that has, you know, with million dollar houses and stuff like that," Cortez said. "Believe it or not, it's not easy to get to 3.9 million."

Palmview City Manager Michael Leo says a disaster declaration can also be helpful for those filing claims with their insurance, as it demonstrates to the insurance company the area was significantly affected.

"When people need to file claims, and they have damages, either with their insurance company, through SBA, or through other government...