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Jefferson County residents have a new tool to prepare for, respond to, recover from and report damages from disasters.

Jefferson County Emergency Management recently announced the launch of the Jefferson County Long Term Recovery Disaster App, which is available for both iOs and Android devices.

The Jefferson County Texas Disaster App provides a wide range of features to ensure that residents have access to crucial information before, during, and after an emergency, according to information from the county. Key features of the app include:

Emergency Alerts: Receive real-time notifications about severe weather, road closures, evacuation orders, and other critical updates directly to your smartphone.

Disaster Preparedness Guides: Access comprehensive guides on how to prepare for various types of emergencies, including hurricanes, floods, and industrial accidents.

Recovery Resources: Learn about available resources for disaster recovery, including assistance program, debris removal, and community support services.

Usage

County judge Jeff Branick said the app has a section to self-report disaster damages, something that is more efficient than sending damage assessment teams out to determine if damage seen is due to the disaster.

Part of the process of determining if an area will receive disaster assistance from the reporting of damage and that must hit a dollar amount threshold.

For the State of Texas, there must be $40 million in uninsured damages.

Branick said normally a county judge will enter a disaster declaration prior to the impending disaster, which he did for Hurricane Beryl.

The declaration goes to the governor’s office and when the disaster strikes, the governor sends the declaration to the White House for the president to sign.

At that point the local area can become eligible for assistance.

Part of the purpose of the app is to make sure the damage is reported.

On Friday, FEMA officials announced that Texans with disaster related needs due to Beryl may be eligible for disaster assistance under FEMA”s Individuals and Households Program.

Jefferson and Orange are two of a number of counties that may be eligible for assistance, according to FEMA.gov