Alabama Disaster Assistance Expanded 

Release Date: September 9, 2005
Release Number: 1605-009

» More Information on Alabama Hurricane Katrina

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Various forms of expanded disaster assistance have been made available for hard-hit Alabama counties to recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today.

Newly designated counties now eligible for Individual Assistance (IA) are Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Hale, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa, bringing the total of eligible counties to ten.

The expanded federal declaration designated Hale and Tuscaloosa counties eligible for Public Assistance (PA) as well as IA and declared Jefferson and Marengo counties eligible for the PA program, bringing that total to ten.

The counties eligible for some form of state/federal assistance since President Bush first declared the Gulf Coast region of Alabama a federal disaster area on August 29 are:

The various individual assistance programs include financial assistance to pay for temporary housing, emergency repairs or rebuilding, rental aid, and individual and household grants to cover serious unmet needs. Low-interest disaster loans are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for uninsured and underinsured damage to homes, personal property and businesses.

All Public Assistance declared counties are now eligible for the full range of program reimbursement. Categories of assistance include debris removal, emergency protective measures, road systems and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and contents, public utilities, parks, and recreational facilities.

Federal Coordinating Officer Ron Sherman said the assistance was approved based on a review of damage data gathered by federal and state disaster recovery officials.

Affected residents and business owners in the declared counties, and displaced evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi temporarily living in Alabama may apply for assistance by calling the toll-free registration number 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), open 24-hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Those with a speech or hearing impairment may call a special TTY number at 1-800-462-7585. Internet registration is available online at www.fema.gov.

“We remain committed to delivering assistance wherever it’s needed and to making sure that every qualified individual and family receives the help they need to get back on the road to recovery,” Sherman said.

The Public Assistance designation will reimburse local governments 100-percent of their approved costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures costs incurred through October 28 (60-days). Other hurricane damage to roads, flood control works, public buildings and equipment, public utilities, and publicly owned parks and recreation areas will be reimbursed on a 75-percent federal, 25-percent non-federal cost share basis.

Sherman also said that a grant program for reducing future damage from disasters, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, will be available for all counties in the state. The funds for that program will equal 7½ percent of all the FEMA disaster aid given to the state for Hurricane Katrina. State officials will determine how those grants will be used.

FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages the federal response and recovery efforts following an incident of national significance. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities to reduce the risk of loss in future disasters, trains first responders, workers with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Last Modified: Friday, 09-Sep-2005 10:12:01