Eighteen more counties in the state of Texas – including Willacy – have been added to President Biden's Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance.

Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release Friday that the approval for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency comes after the state submitted a request earlier this week that an additional 54 counties be added to the disaster declaration.

With the declaration, FEMA can now provide emergency protective measures for mass care and sheltering and direct federal assistance for the counties listed in the declaration.

The 18 counties added to the declaration include Atascosa, Bandera, Brooks, Duval, Eastland, Ector, Goliad, Howard, Jim Hogg, Karnes, Kleberg, Leon, Llano, Newton, Robertson, Trinity, Webb, and Willacy.

Hidalgo and Cameron counties had previously received approval to receive FEMA aid.

Starr County was among the 54 counties requested to be added to the declaration, but was not approved Friday.

"Thank you to our federal partners at FEMA for granting approval for these 18 counties," Abbott stated in the news release. "I look forward to working with them to ensure the remaining counties in this request are approved, as well as other counties throughout our

state who are in need of assistance." 

More counties will be requested by the state to be added to the declaration, the news release stated.

Texas residents are urged to fill out the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s TDEM's State of Texas Assessment Tool to help the state identify damages across the state.