U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson was at the Madison County Courthouse meeting room discussing the Federal Disaster Declaration due to the May 8, 2009 storm, and what it will mean to this county. The Madison County County Commission, several City of Fredericktown officials, and others were in attendance. Emerson said one of her repsentatives will stay in contact with Madison County, as things move forward. 'Things will move faster now,' Emerson said at the meeting. There will be a meeting with a representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at 8 a.m., Wednesday, July 1, at the Black River Electric meeting room.
WASHINGTON – The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for the State of Missouri and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding during the period of May 8-16, 2009.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said the president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Adair, Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Greene, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, Madison, Newton, Ozark, Polk, Reynolds, Ripley, St. Francois, Shannon, Texas, Washington, and Webster counties.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding in Adair, Barton, Bollinger, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Knox, Laclede, Lewis, Madison, Maries, Marion, Miller, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Perry, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Ray, Reynolds, Ripley, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Saline, Shannon, Shelby, Stone, Sullivan, Texas, Vernon, Washington, Wayne, Webster, and Wright counties.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties within the state.
Fugate named Thomas A. Hall as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Hall said that additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Central time).
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders and ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
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