FEMADR-850-TXMajor disasterDeclared January 9, 1990
DR-850-TX: Texas Severe Freeze
FEMA made a major disaster declaration for Texas (DR-850-TX) on January 9, 1990 for the incident of December 21, 1989 to December 24, 1989; it covers 10 designated areas.
The declaration
- Declaration
- DR-850-TX (also written FEMA-850-DR)
- Type
- Major disaster declaration
- State
- Texas
- Incident
- Freezing: Severe Freeze
- Incident period
- December 21, 1989 to December 24, 1989
- Declared
- January 9, 1990
- Programs declared
- Individual Assistance (the older program, flagged until 2008)
- FEMA region
- 6
- Place in the year
- the first of 2 major disaster declarations for Texas in 1990
- Status
- closed out on September 27, 1991
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
Which areas are covered, and for what?
| Designated area | Individuals and Households | Individual Assistance (older program) | Public Assistance | Hazard Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Dimmit (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Frio (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Hidalgo (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Kinney (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Maverick (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Starr (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Uvalde (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Willacy (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
| Zavala (County) | — | Yes | — | — |
An area can be added to a declaration after the first day, or have a program added: this table is FEMA's current list.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). Data as of September 29, 2026.
How much has FEMA approved?
FEMA has published no assistance totals for this declaration.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2); FEMA, OpenFEMA FEMA Web Disaster Summaries (v1). Data as of September 29, 2026.
FEMA's page for this declaration
FEMA's own page for this declaration is fema.gov/disaster/850. AreaZine is not FEMA and cannot answer questions about an application.