By The Restoration HQ desk · · filed under Storms & CAT
Texas Hill Country floods again, major disaster declaration (DR-4879)
Severe storms and flooding hit South/Central Texas starting July 12: Kerr, Guadalupe, Travis, Williamson, and more. A federal emergency declaration (28 counties) plus a major disaster declaration followed, opening individual assistance.
FORThis is what being ready looks like, pre-staged crews, carrier relationships set before the water rose, and a documentation system that lets you scale a CAT response without drowning in paperwork.
AGAINSTStorm-chasing CAT work is a sugar high. The out-of-town crews will flood the Hill Country, underbid, and leave the locals cleaning up the reputation. Chasing this water is how good shops lose money.
Consensus vs. contrarianConsensus: CAT event = go get the work. Contrarian worth owning: the money in a repeat-flood zone isn't the emergency dispatch, it's owning the local relationships and the rebuild that follows six months later, after the chasers have left.
Sources FEMA, www.fema.gov/disaster/4879; emergency declaration www.fema.gov/press-release/20260718/presiden… (flooding began 2026-07-12)