On Nov. 1, the Williamson County Commissioners Court extended an Order Declaring a Local State of Disaster for Williamson County due to the tornado that touched down in the Jarrell area, as well as high winds and severe thunderstorms that traveled through the county on Oct. 24. The Order extending the disaster declaration until Nov. 22 unless otherwise terminated is available here. Anyone suffering damage from the Oct. 24 storm can report their damage to the Texas Division of Emergency Management at damage.tdem.texas.gov.
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell signed the original Order Declaring a Local State of Disaster for Williamson County on Oct. 25. A copy of that Order may be viewed here.
“We are very fortunate that there was no loss of life associated with the tornado. My heart goes out to the families who were affected by last night’s storm. We need to do all that we can to help them restore their property and restore their lives,” said County Judge Bill Gravell. “Because of the damage seen and reported, I am signing the order declaring a local disaster.”
A local disaster declaration allows local officials to exercise emergency powers to preserve life, property and public health and enables them to use available resources to respond to the disaster. It also allows affected property owners to apply for federal or state assistance programs, should they become available. The local disaster declaration is in effect for seven days.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management iSTAT Dashboard so far reports 37 properties have damage with three properties reported as destroyed and four with major damage. The remainder have minor damage or were just somehow affected. Property owners are encouraged to report their damage to damage.tdem.texas.gov.
Natural disasters create stress on families, including children. Anyone wanting crisis counseling should call the Bluebonnet Trails Community Services crisis hotline at 1-800-841-1255.