Cooke County still taking applications for tornado shelter rebates
The FEMA-funded program pays back up to half of an eligible shelter's cost, with a $3,000 limit. Homeowners pay the full bill first and must have county approval before work starts.
Cooke County homeowners who want a tornado shelter can still apply to get up to half the cost back, with a limit of $3,000, according to the county's safe-room program page. The rebate is not paid up front. County guidelines say the owner pays the whole bill first and must show proof of full payment.
The money comes from FEMA and passes through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to the county. The county's announcement, posted on the city of Gainesville's CivicAlerts page, says funding is limited and that applications are handled in the order they arrive.
Denton County uses the same 50% rebate and $3,000 cap, and its program page gives examples: a $4,000 shelter receives $2,000, while shelters costing $6,000, $8,000 or $12,000 receive no more than $3,000.
The steps run in a fixed order. The program page says a homeowner must have a county award letter before installation begins. After the shelter goes in, the applicant files completion documents and arranges a county inspection. The county warns that state reimbursement can take months to arrive after it sends in a homeowner's paperwork.
The program covers unincorporated Cooke County and county properties in Gainesville, Muenster, Lindsay, Valley View, Callisburg, Whitesboro, Era and Oak Ridge. Under the guidelines, the applicant must own the property when the award is made, and the property must be used as a residence or leased as one. The site must be outside a mapped 100-year floodplain. Builders and developers cannot take part.
The announcement requires a shelter certified by the National Storm Shelter Association, installed by a licensed vendor and built to FEMA P-320, FEMA P-361 and ICC 500. The handbook refers to both the 2012 and the 2023 editions of ICC 500, so it does not settle which edition applies. The county also describes the shelters as "FEMA-certified." FEMA's own consumer guidance says the agency does not certify, approve or endorse products or contractors.
The announcement cites National Climatic Data Center records of 62 tornadoes in the county since 1950. The most recent storm it names is the May 2024 Valley View tornado. At a May 26, 2024, briefing, Gov. Greg Abbott reported seven deaths from that storm, describing the figure as a preliminary estimate.
tornado events recorded in Cooke County since 1950
The county's announcement attributes seven deaths, 107 injuries and $70 million in damage to these events.
The county has paid for shelters before. Its June 10, 2013, check register lists storm-shelter reimbursements.
Demand in the region has outrun the money before. Wise County also offers a 50% rebate capped at $3,000. It opened applications on Feb. 2, 2026, and stopped taking waitlist applications on March 20 because its program was full. In its 2014 financial report, the North Central Texas Council of Governments described more than 9,400 waitlisted applicants.
applicants on the regional safe-room waitlist
The same report recorded 294 safe-room awards totaling $820,225 during 2014.
The announcement names emergency manager Rand Brown and county judge's clerk Chelsea Terry as contacts. The county's current emergency-management page says the coordinator and fire marshal position is vacant. It sends questions to the county judge's office at 940-668-5435 or [email protected]. Completed applications can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to Cooke County Emergency Management, 101 S Dixon Street, Gainesville, TX 76240.
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