Gov. Greg Abbott has formally asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to declare a disaster in Bexar County, a move that would open the door to low-interest federal loans for homeowners, renters and business owners still cleaning up after the late-August storms tore through South-Central Texas. If approved, the declaration would automatically extend loan eligibility to seven surrounding counties as well, stretching relief far beyond San Antonio's city limits.
Abbott's office said local, state and federal officials conducted a joint analysis of damage sustained across the impacted communities, reviewing disaster details that Texans self-reported through the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool, or iSTAT. That damage analysis verified that Bexar County meets the federally required thresholds for SBA assistance, according to News Radio 1200 WOAI. Under federal regulations, an SBA physical disaster declaration requires at least 25 homes, 25 businesses, or a combination of 25 properties in a single county to have sustained uninsured physical damage equal to 40 percent or more of their pre-disaster fair market value, per federal regulations.
The severe weather that triggered the request included tornadic activity, thunderstorms, hail and straight-line winds, the station's report notes. On August 28, that system generated straight-line downburst winds of 75 to 80 mph across Bexar County, knocking out electricity to more than 100,000 CPS Energy customers at its peak and causing over 600 reported downed wire incidents, according to KSAT. The downburst struck San Antonio after the city had already endured 12 consecutive days of triple-digit heat.
Flooding Turned Deadly Across the City
The storm system's toll went beyond property damage. Flooding tied to the late-August system resulted in multiple fatalities, including a 46-year-old woman who drowned on Quincy Street near I-35 and a man recovered from Woodlawn Lake, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News and relayed by Hoodline's earlier coverage of the storm's aftermath. A separate body recovered near I-10 and Probandt was also being examined by police as a possible storm victim.
Before submitting the formal SBA request, Abbott had directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management on September 2 to coordinate joint preliminary damage assessments with SBA representatives in Bexar County, a step confirmed by the Office of the Governor. Abbott said the SBA request will deliver critical resources to Texans whose homes and businesses were damaged in the August storms, adding that Texas will provide qualified families and businesses with the tools to rebuild alongside federal partners.
What Qualifying Homeowners And Businesses Could Receive
SBA physical disaster loans, if the request is approved, would provide qualifying Texans with up to $500,000 for homeowners to repair or replace primary residences, up to $100,000 for personal property, and up to $2 million for businesses and private nonprofits to cover uncompensated physical damage or economic injury, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. These are direct federal low-interest loans meant to cover losses that insurance did not.
Approval would also automatically extend loan eligibility to businesses and residents in seven contiguous counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson, according to Bexar County. That regional reach means the financial fallout from the late-August storms, and the potential relief, extends well past San Antonio proper.
Food Benefit Extensions Already in Place
The SBA request is not the only recovery tool state officials have deployed. On September 5, Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission had obtained USDA approval to extend the deadline to September 17 for Bexar County SNAP recipients to apply for replacement food benefits lost during storm power outages, doubling the standard reporting window from 10 to 20 days. WIC clients in Bexar County who lost food purchased with September benefits due to storm-related outages were separately authorized to request replacement benefits through September 30.
The SBA request also arrives amid a broader, tangled sequence of federal disaster actions in Texas this year. On September 3, President Trump approved a federal Major Disaster Declaration for severe July storms in 19 Texas counties, while Texas's separate requests for FEMA Public Assistance and Individual Assistance specifically for Bexar County remained pending, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Why Bexar County Keeps Flooding
Bexar County sits within what's known as “Flash Flood Alley,” a flood-prone corridor where the San Antonio River Authority operates 27 of its 65 local flood-control dams to manage rapid stormwater runoff during severe thunderstorms, according to the San Antonio River Authority. The area's proximity to the Balcones Escarpment causes rainfall to run off up to six times faster than in surrounding regions, a geographic quirk that helps explain why a single downburst event could produce both catastrophic wind damage and fatal flash flooding within the same 24-hour window.
Affected Texans can still report damage online at damage.tdem.texas.gov, a tool officials used to help build the case for federal assistance. Should the SBA approve the governor's request, qualifying homeowners, renters and business owners across Bexar County and its contiguous counties would gain access to loans meant to help them rebuild after a summer marked by extreme heat, tornadoes, downed power lines and deadly flooding.
