FEMA/Virginia Speed Disaster Relief To Tazewell County
Release Date: July 20, 2001
Release Number: 1386-06
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Tazewell, VA -- One week after a presidential declaration enabled residents of Tazewell County to register for federal and state disaster programs, nearly $500,000 in disaster assistance has been approved for eligible recipients according to officials overseeing the joint recovery effort.
Marianne C. Jackson, federal coordinating officer, said 297 county residents had applied for some form of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Virginia disaster assistance, including disaster housing, individual and family grants (IFG) and loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Jackson said that approved disaster assistance to date totals $481,065 and the first checks for disaster housing assistance and home repairs began arriving this week to qualified renters and homeowners.
Jackson said that 235 county residents had requested emergency disaster housing assistance due to damage to their homes and that nearly half of the housing inspections required to verify damage had been completed to date.
A snapshot of the first week's totals:
| Disaster Housing: | Applicants: 235 | Approved: 92 | Amount: $294,765 |
| IFG: | Applicants: 107 | Approved: 0 | Amount: $0 |
| SBA Loans: | Applicants: 20 | Approved: 10 | Amount: $186,300 |
George Foresman, state coordinating officer, urged all county residents who suffered flood damage to register promptly so that individual needs can be identified and assistance expedited to applicants. "If you have flood-related losses, you should register for assistance even if you have flood insurance," Foresman said.
Anyone who suffered damages of any kind as a result of the July 8-10 flooding that resulted in the President's July 12th disaster declaration is urged to contact the FEMA toll-free teleregistration number at 1-800-462-9029 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for those who use special keyboard equipment. The toll-free number will operate from 7a.m. to 7p.m., seven days a week.
FEMA and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) have established a Disaster Recovery Center at 607 Market Street in North Tazewell. Disaster recovery specialists staff the center to answer applicant questions and provide information about available state and federal programs. No appointment is necessary. Officials said that previously registered applicants are not required to come to a center, but are welcome to visit for face-to-face answers to questions or to seek other information.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 14-Oct-2003 15:20:55