Six More Missouri Counties Designated For Disaster Assistance
Release Date: April 17, 2006
Release Number: 1635-007
» More Information on Missouri Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
COLUMBIA , Mo. -- Disaster assistance has been made available for six more Missouri counties to help residents recover from the effects of recent tornadoes, severe storms and flooding, federal and state officials announced today.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said the counties were added to the list of eligible jurisdictions based on a review of damage data gathered by state and federal disaster recovery officials.
The six additional counties now eligible for Individual Assistance are: Andrew, Butler , Dunklin, St. Francois , Stoddard, and Pettis. In addition Pemiscot County has now been designated for all categories of Public Assistance, to include debris removal, emergency protective measures and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities.
These counties were added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration of April 5, 2006, which originally declared Pemiscot County eligible for disaster assistance due to storms and tornadoes that impacted the area March 30 through April 3, 2006.
What this means is that residents and business owners in the newly declared counties are now eligible to apply for assistance to recover from the recent severe weather, said Thomas J. Costello, FEMA's Federal Coordinating Officer for the Missouri disaster recovery effort.
The assistance can include housing and rental assistance, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and assistance for other serious disaster related needs.
We're pleased for the citizens of Missouri that FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security so quickly approved our request for assistance for these additional Missouri counties, said Ron Reynolds, Director of the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
Affected Missouri residents and business owners may apply for assistance immediately by calling the toll-free registration number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) , between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CDT, seven days a week until further notice. Those with a speech or hearing impairment may call TTY 1-800-462-7585. Individuals may also register online at Online Individual Assistance Center.
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 (NFIP) FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Monday, 17-Apr-2006 16:27:41