Federal disaster aid in Missouri tops $91 million

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – More than $91 million in federal assistance is helping Missourians rebuild and recover from floods and storms that struck in December and January. Rainfall brought historic flood levels along the Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec rivers resulting in flooding along the rivers and their tributaries.

In January, President Obama declared residents in 33 counties were eligible to receive disaster assistance. Between February and March, he designated 41 counties eligible for reimbursements for infrastructure damage.

A breakdown of disaster assistance includes:

• $12.6 million in FEMA grants to more than 2,400 households for emergency home repairs, repair or replacement of essential personal property, rental assistance, and help with funeral, medical, dental, transportation and other disaster-related expenses.

• $16.7 million in U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest disaster loans to 392 homeowners, renters and businesses.

• $62.1 million in National Flood Insurance Program payments to homeowners, renters and businesses.

FEMA encourages disaster survivors with continuing needs to stay in touch with FEMA by calling the helpline at 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 1-800-621-3362.

Individual Assistance was extended to 33 counties: Barry, Barton, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maries, McDonald, Morgan, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Scott, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Taney, Texas, Webster and Wright.

Public Assistance was granted to the City of St. Louis and 41 counties: Barry, Bollinger, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, McDonald, Mississippi, New Madrid, Newton, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Pulaski, Reynolds, Scott, Shannon, St. Charles, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Washington and Webster.

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For breaking news about flood recovery, follow FEMA Region 7 on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion7 and turn on mobile notifications or visit the FEMA web pages dedicated to this disaster at www.fema.gov/disaster/4250.

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.

All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

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.