U.S. Texas governor issues disaster declaration after woman dies in flood

Houston (Texas) [US], August 24: Greg Abbott, governor of south central U.S. state Texas, signed a disaster declaration on Tuesday to free up more state resources for 23 counties impacted by severe weather and deadly flash flooding.
"It's our understanding what happened yesterday (Monday) was the second worst flooding in Dallas since 1932," Abbott said at a press conference in Dallas.
"The effect of this storm has been dramatic here in Dallas and Fort Worth, but across multiple regions around the state of Texas," the governor added.
A 60-year-old female Uber driver was killed in Mesquite, east of Dallas, when flash flooding swept her car off a road bridge on Monday.
About 100 homes were reportedly damaged in north Texas and the number is expected to climb, authorities said.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter that based on preliminary damage assessments, he was declaring a state of disaster in Dallas County and requesting state and federal assistance.
The governor encouraged residents to report the amount of damage they sustained via a tool called iSTAT, which the state will collect data to help determine if the damage qualifies the state for federal assistance.
In order to qualify for federal help, the state would need a total of 50 million U.S. dollars in damage to uninsured public property and damage to 800 homes without flood insurance, said a Fox News report.
Source: Xinhua