Federal/Tennessee State Tornado Aid More Than $16 Million 

"We urge everyone affected by the tornadoes who think they may have uninsured or underinsured losses to apply. Let us determine if you are eligible for any of the various types of aid to assist you in your long-term recovery from the tornadoes. We cannot assist you if you do not apply," said Paul W. Fay, Jr., federal coordinating officer. "Those who apply right before the deadline will still be assisted in a timely manner."

"We are very proud of how Tennesseans pulled together to help recover quickly," said TEMA Director John D. White, Jr. "With the deadline approaching, the one big concern right now is that everyone affected at least get their name into the system. Even if you don't think you're eligible, you should make the call to apply-just think how you'll feel if the deadline passes and then you find out you missed out on help you could have gotten."

So far, more than $16.1 million has been provided to date in federal/state disaster assistance.* 414 families have received more than $340,000 in FEMA housing assistance. The State of Tennessee-administered Individual and Family Grant program, has approved $1.2 million for 285 families. The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 244 low-interest loans to individuals and business owners totaling more than $10.9 million. A crisis counseling grant of $78,818 was made to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation so that they could fund local crisis counseling programs in the affected areas. Public Assistance (aid to local governments) has approved 134 projects totaling $3.6 million.

Those with questions about their applications, or who wish to check the status of their applications, are urged to call the HELPLINE at 1-800-525-0321. The HELPLINE normally operates from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CST) Monday through Friday. (TTY: 1-800-660-8005.)

Anyone who applied and received a SBA loan application should fill it out and return it because even if they do not qualify for a loan they may be eligible for a grant. People who have questions about U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan applications may call the SBA toll-free information line at 1-800-359-2227, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.

For people rebuilding their homes in the aftermath of the tornadoes, FEMA has a new publication which can assist in their recovery and give peace of mind. The publication is entitled " Taking Shelter From The Storm: Building a Safe Room in Your House" For a single copy of this publication call 1-888-565-3896 and ask for FEMA publication 320. It's free!

County-by-county chart for Tennessee Counties

Tennessee counties eligible for federal disaster assistance to individuals are: Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Decatur, Dickson, Fayette, Giles, Hardeman, Haywood, Henderson, Houston, Humphreys, Lauderdale, Madison, Maury, Montgomery and Perry.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY DISASTER AID PROGRAMS: TEMPORARY HOUSING, IFG, SBA

NOTE: These application statistics are as of close of business Friday, March 12, 1999

Prepared by FEMA's Joint Information Center, Nashville, TN, Monday, March 15, 1999

Legend

SBA = Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program
IFG = Individual Family Grant (up to $13,600)

Last Modified: Thursday, 18-Dec-2003 13:16:05