http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/07/17/0717drought.html
Drought aid tough to come by
Perry declares 167 Texas counties to be in a state of disaster.
By Juana Summers (((the improbably aptly-named)))
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, July 17, 2009
In letters to Gov. Rick Perry in February asking him to declare a state of emergency, officials in Bastrop and Caldwell counties said the areas were "facing significant threats to life, health and property" because of the persistent drought and had an "inability or the limited ability for recovery from such losses."
Williamson and Travis counties soon followed with their disaster declarations.
Perry relayed those concerns to federal officials in March, saying the losses suffered by farmers and ranchers in Texas' 254 counties "exceed state, local and private sector assistance capabilities" to handle.
Although 70 counties, including Bastrop and Caldwell, were declared disaster areas based on agricultural losses, Central Texas ranchers and farmers say help is hard to find.
"The assistance, in terms of financial assistance, is very limited, if at all," said Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Fisher. "There's only so much a handful of brochures can give you." (((How about a brochure entitled, "As a Republican Governor of stricken Texas, I now admit the factual reality of climate change." I think you'd be surprised how much traffic a brochure like that might get.)))
In the past week, Bastrop County has lost 12,000 cattle, an "astonishing" loss that Fisher said could devastate the county's market for cattle production for several years.
Some farmers had government-backed insurance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fisher said, but "the federal program has not released any compensation for that insurance, and we're wondering" why. (((Maybe because the feds are still trying to pay
for the massive hurricane that ravaged Texas last year, the third most destructive hurricane
ever to make landfall in the United States?)))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ike
Since the beginning of the year, 11.3 inches of rain have been measured at Camp Mabry, a monitoring site in West Austin; the average is 18.4 inches. Many of the streams and rivers that feed the Highland Lakes, including the Pedernales River, have all but dried up. The lakes provide irrigation, drinking water and recreation opportunities.
Officials with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service at Texas A&M University estimate that dry-land farmers, who depend solely on rain to grow crops such as corn, sorghum, cotton and hay, will face losses of 70 to 80 percent this year and said that Texas farmers will lose more than $1 billion.
(((Rather makes one wonder who is growing America's food this year.)))
http://www.water.ca.gov/drought/
The governor's office announced Thursday that it would declare 167 Texas counties — including those in Central Texas — to be in a state of disaster because of the extreme fire hazard caused by the drought, a move officials say would allow the state to move more quickly to respond to the drought's effects. (...)
According to the recently updated U.S. Drought Monitor Map, 18 percent of the state is experiencing exceptional drought, the most extreme category. Central and South Texas are the only areas in the nation experiencing such severe drought conditions....
(((Wow, 21st century drought disasters are web-interactive.)))
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/interactive/030609_drought.html
