Federal Aid Continues to Help Georgians Recover
Release Date: April 19, 2007
Release Number: 1686-041
» More Information on Georgia Severe Storms and Tornadoes
CORDELE, Ga. -- More than six weeks have passed since President Bush's March 3 disaster declaration for the severe storms and tornadoes that raked southwest Georgia . Through April 17, disaster recovery grants, loans and Public Assistance funds disbursed for Georgia families, individuals, business owners and local governments total more than $8.92 million.
The new total, $254,800 more than last week's sum, was announced today by officials of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The following breaks down disaster-recovery aid for the 15 counties now authorized to receive funds to spur recovery from the severe storms and tornadoes of March 1-2. At the close of business April 17:
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1,819 households have registered for Individual Assistance.
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$1,188,433 has been disbursed through the Individuals and Household Program. Of that, FEMA has provided $792, 399 in Housing Assistance and $396,034 in Other Needs Assistance (ONA).
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$6,634,700 in loans has been approved by the SBA for homeowners, renters, individuals and businesses affected by the severe storms and tornadoes. Of this, $5,099,700 has been approved for home loans and $1,535,000 has been approved for businesses. SBA operates a Business Recovery Center in Americus at the South Georgia Technical College 's Pope Center , open from 8.a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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To date, 914 home inspections have been scheduled and 908 have been completed. There are two inspectors in the field.
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2,288 people visited seven Disaster Recovery Centers established to meet the recovery information needs of individuals in the counties affected by the disaster.
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74 Disaster Unemployment Assistance claims have been filed and $21,651 has been disbursed.
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$1,085,055 in federal Public Assistance funds has been obligated to the state of Georgia for debris removal and repairs to public facilities.
- Federal and state aid for the severe storms and tornadoes of March 1-2 is authorized for 15 Georgia counties: seven for both Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA), two for IA only, and six for PA only.
Counties receiving IA are Baker, Crawford, Dougherty, McDuffie, Mitchell, Sumter , Taylor , Warren and Worth. Homeowners, renters and business owners in these counties have until May 2 to register for assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) . Those with impaired speech or hearing can call TTY 800-462-7585. Applicants also can register online at www.fema.gov.
Counties receiving PA are Baker, Clay, Crawford, Hancock, McDuffie, Mitchell, Muscogee, Stewart, Sumter, Taylor, Warren, Webster and Wilkinson.
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: Thursday, 19-Apr-2007 09:47:27