KERR COUNTY, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Workforce Commission is accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) due to the recent flooding in Kerr County.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, activating the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Texas.
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Under that declaration, workers and self-employed individuals in Kerr County unable to work because of storm damage may qualify for DUA benefits, according to a news release.
“We are also working to ensure that Texans hit hardest by these devastating floods have the resources they need to move forward,” Abbott said in the release, in part.
Those affected by flooding should specify that their applications are related to the Hill Country floods.
While Kerr County is currently the only area included in the disaster declaration, officials are reviewing damage reports from other Hill Country counties, according to the release. Additional counties may be added to the declaration as assessments continue.
DUA is available to the following people who:
- Have applied for and used all regular unemployment benefits, or do not qualify for them
- Worked or were self-employed, or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in the disaster area
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to their workplace caused by the disaster
- Can establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income
- Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury caused by the disaster
- Became the main support of a household because of the death of the head of the household
- Cannot reach their job or self-employment location because the disaster blocks access through the affected area
Affected Texans must submit proof of employment or self-employment within 21 days of submitting their application.
Proof can be submitted online via the Texas Workforce Commission’s UI Submission Portal, by mail to Texas Workforce Commission, Attn: DUA Proof, P.O. Box 149137, Austin, Texas 78714-9137, or by fax at 512-322-2867.
Applications can be submitted online or by calling the Texas Workforce Commission at 800-939-6631. The phone line is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The deadline to apply is Sept. 4.
The release also states that those affected are encouraged to report damage to homes or businesses through the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool.
More recent related coverage of the Hill Country floods:
