Austin recovers $34.7M in disaster funds tied to COVID-19 and storms

The city of Austin announced Tuesday that it recovered $34.7 million in federal reimbursements related to COVID-19, Winter Storm Uri, Winter Storm Mara and the 2015 floods.

After disaster strikes and the community recovers, the Austin Emergency Management team tracks disaster-related costs and seeks reimbursement for city funds spent on response and recovery.

"The COVID-19 pandemic changed many of our lives forever. While most people have moved on or found a new normal, AEM’s finance team is still actively recovering millions of dollars for the City," Sara Henry, Austin Emergency Management’s chief administrative officer, said in a news release. "We are working with state and federal partners every week to help get these dollars back into our community."

To qualify for public assistance, the city must demonstrate to the state that it sustained at least $56.5 million in uninsured, eligible disaster-related damages. Travis County must report at least $6.2 million in damages to qualify.

"It can take several years after the event to get reimbursed, and I am very proud of the team who shows up to do this work behind the scenes every day," Henry said. "We hope our community will also take time to educate themselves about this process and their role in disaster recovery."

After a disaster, the public can submit damage reports to the state through the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT), which helps officials track the scope and size of an incident and determine if state and federal thresholds for public assistance have been met.

The city advises residents to take photos and videos of their homes and belongings before and after a disaster for personal homeowner’s or renter’s insurance claims and potential disaster assistance.