Individual Disaster Assistance Tops $700,000 In Tennessee Tornadoes
Release Date: April 24, 2006
Release Number: 1634-035
» More Information on Tennessee Severe Storms and Tornadoes
JACKSON, Tenn. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $711,755.12 to help Tennesseans recover from the deadly tornadoes and storms that struck the state earlier this month. As of Saturday morning, 1,380 people had registered with FEMA for financial grants, low-interest loans and other disaster-related services.
Federal grants totaling $384,929.90 are going directly to applicants to help pay for housing assistance, including rental assistance and repairs to their homes. Another $326,825.22 has been approved to help applicants cover unmet needs, such as medical and dental expenses, lost personal possessions, funeral costs and loss of essential transportation.
“We are encouraging anyone in the 15 declared counties who suffered damage in these storms to register with FEMA, whether they have insurance or not,” said Marsha Cornish, the deputy state coordinating officer for this disaster. “Even if their insurance covers most of the damage, there are other types of assistance and services that FEMA and the state of Tennessee can offer disaster victims.”
Under the federal disaster declaration, renters, homeowners and businesses in Benton, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Cumberland, Davidson, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Haywood, Maury, Sumner, Warren and Weakley counties are eligible to apply for disaster assistance.
They can apply by calling FEMA’s toll-free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or the TTY line for the speech and hearing impaired at 1-800-462-7585. FEMA also registers applicants online at www.fema.gov.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Monday, 24-Apr-2006 14:35:28