Lawrenceburg To Get $375,000 FEMA Grant For Flood Mitigation
Release Date: June 11, 2002
Release Number: R4-02-33
Atlanta, GA -- Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, will soon receive a $375,276 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for use in acquiring three single-family houses and two commercial properties that have been repeatedly flooded. The five structures will be demolished and the property maintained by the city as open space. Two adjacent vacant lots will also be acquired with the grant funds.
"When you are flooded out as many times as these people have been, it just makes good sense to sell the property and move to higher ground," said FEMA Region IV Director Ken Burris. "For these families, the uncertainty brought by every severe storm, the trauma of living through yet another flood, and the costly process of rebuilding their homes and their lives afterwards, is forever behind them."
FEMA will provide 75 percent of the project's total estimated $500,368 cost, with the state and Lawrence County providing the remaining 25 percent ($125,092).
"Once cleared, the land will allow future high waters to flow unimpeded through the natural drainage area, giving nearby properties a greater chance of escaping flood damage," said
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director John D. White, Jr.
The buyout program is part of FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, managed by TEMA, which makes grants available to communities for projects specifically designed to lessen the damaging effects of disasters.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 27-Aug-2003 11:52:19