By Chris Edwards
[email protected]
TYLER COUNTY – In an emergency called meeting on Tuesday morning, the Tyler County Commissioners Court renewed a declaration of disaster, which was originally declared on April 30 by Tyler County Judge Milton Powers.
That declaration, issued by Powers following severe weather last Sunday night and Monday morning, was extended for 10 days. Initially, the declaration was good for seven days.
Powers spoke on behalf of John Settlocker, the county’s Emergency Management Coordinator, and said there have been seven rescues of residents from the floodwaters.
“We have the possibility of more flooding all the way from Rockland, along the Neches River, up to Sheffield’s Ferry,” Powers said.
On Monday, Powers issued a voluntary evacuation notice for residents in areas along the Neches, including Rockland; Fox Landing; Mount Neches; Barlow Lake Estates and Sheffield’s Ferry, due to the possibility of more rain in the week and rising waters along the river.
At present, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management, the levels at the Neches River are 29.7 feet at Rockland and Fox Landing and 75.08 feet at Town Bluff.
Powers noted the possibility of more rain, forecasted for Thursday. “There’s a possibility of more storms, hail and more strong winds,” Powers said, and he expressed gratitude for all of the hard work of the county employees and officials, in various departments, who assisted in the aftermath of the flooding.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Joe Blacksher reported the need for residents to report damages from the flooding to report any damages to the iSTAT reporting system. The portal for reporting features a QR code, and can be accessed to the right of this story.
The Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) is encouraging people whose property has been damaged by severe weather or flooding to report the damage using TDEM’s Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) at damage.tdem.texas.gov. Select April 26-Ongoing Sever Weather Event. The details provided help emergency management officials gain a better understanding of the extent of damages that have occurred. The information provided from the process also helps identify immediate resource needs.
There have been 58 different incidents reported from Tyler County, and Powers said “We just want to let these people know that we are keeping them in our prayers and doing everything, and exhausting every avenue that we can reach out to.”
Powers also acknowledged the office of Gov. Greg Abbott and TDEM for their swift help. The initial proclamation from Abbott was signed April 15, following the flooding in the region on April 9-10. Residents have 30 days from that date to complete damage assessments and to submit them.
There is a threshold of claims that is necessary for FEMA to provide assistance, and Powers said that there is a chance, with both disaster declarations combined, that the threshold will be met.
In neighboring Polk County, the county remains under a disaster declaration after widespread flooding with last week’s storms.
Downtown Livingston was flooded, and the water levels along the Trinity River and in low-lying areas, as of Thursday, were still high and not expected to drop significantly.
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