Federal Disaster Assistance Tops $7.8 Million in Six Weeks
Release Date: April 18, 2008
Release Number: 1747-025
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- With more than $7.8 million already approved in six weeks, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials still have some concerns. The window of opportunity is slowly but surely closing for Iroquois and Livingston county residents who had damage from the severe storms and flooding Jan. 7 through March 14.
Help is still just a toll-free call away. To apply by the May 6 deadline, residents should call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired applicants. Both lines are available daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (CDT). Residents also may apply on line at www.fema.gov.
Disaster recovery efforts through April 17 include:
- Exactly 1,249 individuals (homeowners, renters and business owners) already have applied for assistance - 743 from Iroquois County and 506 from Livingston.
- More than $3.6 million ($3,601,612) in grants has been approved in housing assistance for 772 applicants to be used for temporary disaster housing or to help make disaster-damaged, uninsured homes safe, sanitary and functional.
- A total of $693,853 in Other Needs Assistance (ONA) already is approved for 352 applicants to replace personal property and to help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs.
- More than 224 home and business owners have returned their U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) application packets for low-interest loans. So far, the SBA has approved $3,532,100 for 89 low-interest loans.
- May 6 also is the deadline for applicants who received SBA low-interest loan applications to complete and return the packet. If the SBA application is not returned, FEMA will not consider the applicant for other forms of federal assistance.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Friday, 18-Apr-2008 15:16:13