BELTON, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry, fresh off a helicopter tour of flood-stricken Central Texas, has issued a disaster declaration for 40 counties affected by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine.

Perry declared parts of Texas a disaster area Thursday, a day after the surprisingly strong storm flooded parts of central and northern Texas. At least two people died and authorities are searching for four people who were swept away by floodwaters.

The disaster declaration makes state money and equipment available for the cleanup effort.

Activated state search and rescue capabilities include 48 Texas Military Forces personnel, 10 high-profile vehicles, two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 20 personnel from Texas Task Force 1 swift-water rescue teams.

"Thanks to the heroic actions of our state’s first responders, working in concert with our Division of Emergency Management, multiple rescue operations were completed and many lives saved," Gov. Perry said. "One life lost is one too many, but we are grateful to our brave first responders who risked their own lives to ensure the toll wasn’t even higher."

The storm, which spawned several tornados in the Dallas area and southern Oklahoma on Wednesday, caught many Texans by surprise. It made landfall Monday night in southern Texas but initially caused little damage.

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