Nine More Counties in Oklahoma Now Approved to Receive Federal Disaster Assistance under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program

Oklahoma City – A June 9 amendment to the major disaster declaration for Oklahoma following the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding occurring May 5 to June 4 now includes Public Assistance (PA) funding for nine additional counties, or 25 counties in all.

Today’s amendment added Canadian, Carter, Choctaw, Coal, Le Flore, Love, Murray, Okmulgee and Pottawatomie counties to the declaration making them eligible for dollars to help repair or rebuild public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water systems, utilities and public buildings such as schools. A previous amendment designated Atoka, Bryan, Cleveland, Cotton, Grady, Haskell, Hughes, Johnston, Latimer, McClain, Okfuskee, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman as eligible to receive Public Assistance funding.

Types of entities that may be eligible for Public Assistance include:

• Local governments and special districts;
• Certain private nonprofit organizations or institutions that conduct activities of a governmental nature and are open to the general public;
• Federally recognized tribes; and
• State government agencies.

The declaration also includes 13 counties – Atoka, Bryan, Comanche, Cleveland, Grady, Johnston, Kiowa, Le Flore, McClain, McCurtain, Oklahoma, Pittsburg and Pottawatomie – for Individual Assistance, or assistance to help survivors get back on their feet after the severe weather.

Individuals in the designated counties are encouraged to register for federal disaster assistance. You can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362 or (TTY)

1-800-462-7585. If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4222 or visit the OEM at www.oem.ok.gov. 

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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) prepares for, responds to, recovers from and mitigates against emergencies and disasters. The department delivers service to Oklahoma cities, towns and counties through a network of more than 350 local emergency managers.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.