Gov. Abbott urges Texans to report winter weather damage to iSTAT damage survey

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After the wintry weather that happened this week, Gov. Greg Abbott urged Texans to report any damages that happened from ice, snow and rainfall, according to a release from Abbott's office.

Those affected by the winter weather can report home and/or business damages by using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey. Those surveys can be filled out in English or Spanish and are available on the Texas Division of Emergency Management's (TDEM) website, the release said. Users can click on "January 6th Winter Weather."

"As communities across the state begin to recover, I urge Texans to report any damage to their homes or businesses through the iSTAT damage survey to help the state determine if Texas qualifies for federal disaster assistance," Abbott said in the release.

There are resources on the TDEM website to help Texans complete the survey, according to Abbott's office.

"By filling out the iSTAT survey, residents provide key details that enable emergency management teams to assess the severity and scale of the damage caused by ice, snow, and excessive rains," the release said. "This data also supports efforts to determine if the state qualifies for federal disaster assistance."

Moreover, the iSTAT tool is "not a substitute for reporting damages to your insurance provider and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance."

As of Friday, the Texas State Operations Center remained activated at a Level II escalated response, which helps "support local officials with response and recovery efforts," the release said. Additionally, state officials continue working with "utility regulators to ensure electrical providers quickly restore power" to any who were impacted by local outages.

Abbott said while most of the ice and snow have moved out of the state, he urged Texans to continue to monitor road conditions.

"With some areas of the state still experiencing hazardous conditions, Texans should regularly monitor road conditions and drive cautiously on bridges and overpasses to keep yourself and your family safe," he said.