FEMA has authorized Critical Needs Assistance (CNA) for all designated counties in Texas for households with immediate or serious needs due to being displaced from their primary dwelling.
Critical needs are life-saving and life-sustaining items including, but not limited to: water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation.
To be eligible for CNA a survivor must:
- Complete a registration with FEMA;
- Verify identity;
- Assert at the time of registration that they have critical needs and request financial assistance for those needs and expenses;
- Have a pre-disaster primary residence located in a county designated for CNA; and
- Be displaced from their pre-disaster primary residence as a result of the disaster.
CNA is currently available in the following counties: Austin, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, and Wharton.
Funds are delivered via direct deposit or paper check payable to the eligible applicant. Critical needs funding may take longer than usual due to the magnitude of this disaster. Once made, an eligibility determination is final.