Wake County Approved For Public Assistance 

Release Date: October 18, 2003
Release Number: 1490-58

» More Information on North Carolina Hurricane Isabel

Raleigh, NC -- Wake County has been added to the list of counties eligible for federal and state disaster aid to reimburse eligible public agencies, local governments and certain private non-profit organizations for disaster-related outlays caused by Hurricane Isabel.

The Public Assistance designation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides federal funding for 75 percent of the approved costs for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repairing, restoring or replacing damaged public facilities. Disaster assistance also may be provided to repair, restore and replace facilities owned by certain private non-profit organizations that operate and maintain educational, utility, emergency, medical, custodial care and other essential governmental service facilities.

"We continue to monitor damage assessment figures from undeclared counties to see if their cumulative losses qualify for federal assistance," Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech said.

There are now 38 counties eligible for federal and state public assistance. Those counties are Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wilson.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

For more information about hurricane preparedness and recovery and specific information about Isabel, visit the FEMA website at www.fema.gov.

Last Modified: Monday, 20-Oct-2003 07:33:57