GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT January 3. 2020 The honorable Donald J. Trump President of the United States The White house 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington. DC. 20500 lhrough: Regional Administrator Tony Robinson 1EMA Region 6 Denton, Texas RE: Request for Presidential Disaster Declaration -- Major Disaster I)ear Mr. President: Under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford I)isaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 42 U.S.C. § 5121-5207 (Stafford Act), as implemented by 44 CFR § 206.36, I respectfully request that you declare a major disaster for the State of Texas as a result of severe weather, straight-line winds, hail, and tornadoes that impacted the state beginning October 20, 2019. In response to the current situation, I have taken the appropriate action under state law by directing the execution of the state’s emergency management plan and by declaring a state of disaster on October 21, 2019. for 16 Texas counties. Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.36, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am requesting Public Assistance Categories A through G, including Direct federal Assistance, for the following counties: Cameron. Dallas. and Erath counties. POST OFFICE Box 12428 AUSTIN. TEXAS 78711 (512) 463-2000 (V0ICE)/DIAI 7-1-1 FOR RELAY SERVICES As we are able to assess damages to the other affected counties, including for infrastructure damage, I reserve the right to request additional types of federal assistance and to request assistance for additional counties in Texas. The state continues to struggle with catastrophic Hurricane Harvey recovery and the other ten major disasters to strike the state in the last four years. The state has also fought aggressive wildfires, with eight Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) declared in the last four years, four in 201$ alone, and one in 2019. Of the 254 counties in Texas, 183 counties have been included in at least one of these major disaster declarations. These counties together make tip $6 percent of the state’s population and represent a population greater than that of 38 other states. Texans, first responders across the state, local officials, and volunteer organizations are exhausted. Volunteer organizations in particular are suffering from fatigue and little money coming into their organizations to assist Texans. The last several years have taken a toll on the people and the property of this state. Texans are resilient, but few can recover without assistance when disasters hit one right after another, especially when the affected locations are recovering from previous disasters. Texans will overcome these challenges, but assistance is needed from the federal government. INCIDENT OvERvIEw Two years after the historic devastation of Hurricane Harvey, and with four additional major flooding events in the interim, Texas unfortunately finds itself suffering from yet another severe weather event that has caused widespread and severe property damage. The devastation has been tremendous for Texas citizens, local governments, and first responders. Texas has not received a substantial break from tropical storms, flash flooding, severe weather, and river flooding in over a year. The most recent catastrophic weather event is recounted below, as described by the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s (TDEM) Meteorologist and the National Weather Service. Beginning on October 20, 2019, a low-pressure system moved from the Rocky Mountains and traversed the Central Plains, pulling a cold front behind it. The cold front arrived in North Texas in the late afternoon of October 20th and began to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms. Dynamics associated with this system also caused a thunderstorm complex to develop in South Texas late in the day, which led to extensive damage in Cameron County. 2 -100 14otho Htho 0L.,L Hp t 7 00 l 0. 0 0 Around 7:00 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT), thunderstorms in North Texas began to reach severe levels, producing large hail and damaging wind gusts. The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Fort Worth began to issue tornado warnings at approximately 9:00 pm CDT. During the pre-dawn hours of October 21, 2019, local jurisdictions across the state were reporting storms producing large hail, damaging wind gusts, and tornadoes. Texas counties spanning from the Texas/Oklahoma state line to the Rio Grande Valley experienced impacts, including widespread and severe property damage and conditions threatening loss of life. N N a T$1*I1 I tw? N V I w N N I 1N H Hail Wind and Tornado reports from 10/20 21/2019 V N ft tw w WOl1 N w ‘T N 0101-41 N‘ fiT Wete ‘‘ 7! V V N \ Adl,o ;1:I ft w T N H I ‘ - — N N IN.’ IN - N Hail Wind and Tornado reports from 10/20-21/2019 %‘. -‘ - ‘ 3 T Tornadic activity occurred in TDEM Region One, with the most severe storms occurring in Dallas County. The majority of tornadoes from this incident were classified as having EF-0 to EF- 1 winds on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. EF-O LEPhJ EF 1 86-110mph - E F—2 111-135 mph ‘Minor’ damage: shingles blown off or parts of a brahesbrokenofftmeshaHowrootedees I Moderate’ damage: more significant roof damage, windows broken, exterior doors damaged or lost, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged. ‘Considerable’ damage: roofs torn off well constructed homes, homes shifted off their foundation, mobile homes completely destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, ,,“ J , cars can be tossed. E F—3 136-165 mph ‘Severe’ damage: entire stories of well constructed homes destroyed, significant damage done to large buildings, homes with weak foundations can be blown away, trees begin to lose their bark. ‘q*.. r’ iI ‘Extreme’ damage: Well constructed homes are leveled, tars are thrown significant distances, EF-4 top story exterior walls of masonry buildings would likely collapse. -1 ‘Massive/incredible’ damage: Well constructed homes are swept away, steel-reinforced concrete structures are critically damaged, high-rise buildings sustain severe structural EF-5 damage, trees ate usually completely debarked, 5tripped of branches and snapped. Confirmed tornadoes include: Name Cass Dallas Ferris Elmo Garland Midlothian Panola Rockwall Rowlett Wills Point EF 1 3 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 Length 9.12 Miles 15.75 miles .5 2.48 2.9 .8 1.96 6 .63 Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Width 150 Yards .50 Yards 265 Yards 380 Yards 150 Yards 100 yards 500 Yards 200 Yards Start Location Marietta Dallas Ferris Elmo Garland Midlothian Beckville Rockwall Rowlett Wills Point End Location Douglass Dallas Ferris Elmo Garland Midlothian Beckville Rockwall Lake Ray Hubbard Wills Point The most significant tornado touched down at approximately 8:58 pm CDT in Dallas County and was rated as an EF-3. This specific tornado traveled in a southwest-to-northeast path for roughly 15 miles and was on the ground for more than half an hour through a denselypopulated area of North Dallas. 4 Within days, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) estimated that the insured damages from the tornadoes alone would be approximately $2,000,000,000, making this disaster the costliest tornado outbreak in Texas history. The ICT further estimates that approximately 30,000 home and auto claims will be filed because of the storms. As noted previously, this weather system also produced a thunderstorm complex in South Texas, resulting in severe storms that led to extensive damage in Cameron County. Wind gusts in excess of 70 mph occurred in the county on October 21, 2019, between 2:00 am and 2:45 am CDT. This caused widespread damage to homes and businesses, downing dozens of trees and power transmission poles. Straight Line Winds- Bayview Date October 21, 2019 Date October 21, 2019 Time (Local) 2:06 AM 2:16 AM Time (Local) 2:24 AM 2:40 AM 75-80mph Ext. Peak Winds 70 mph Roughly 4.5 miles Path Length Roughly 4.5 miles Roughly 1.25 miles Max Width Roughly 6.0 miles 0 Injuries /0 Deaths Injuries/Deaths 0 Injuries / 0 Deaths Est Peak Winds Path Length Max Width Injuries/Deaths - 5 - I- — Immediately following the storm, roughly 16,000 homes and businesses were without power, and downed power transmission poles blocked access to South Padre Island, and to the main thoroughfare on the island, through the morning of October 23, 2019. - I The size of the upper-level system that traversed the nation’s midsection on October 20, 2019, enhanced the jet stream over South Texas. This system was largely responsible for fueling the thunderstorm complex to a level capable of producing the scale of damages created during this disaster. Absent this effect, thunderstorms in Cameron County are generally incapable of generating the wind speeds that were recorded. \ 250 MB WINDS 7 AM CDT 10/20/2019 1Z ‘) -t .‘. . ,