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Brown County Approved for FEMA Public Assistance

AURORA, Ill. – FEMA announced Friday that it has approved Governor Pat Quinn’s request to make public assistance available in Brown County to help cover the costs that county and local governments and certain non-profits face because of response and damages incurred in the storms and flooding of April 16 to May 5.

Brown County already was one of 33 counties designated for individual assistance to its residents for their damages. It becomes the 40th Illinois county eligible for public assistance, which is a cost-sharing program with FEMA providing 75 percent of eligible costs. State and local governments are responsible for the remainder.

Categories of eligible work that may be funded by FEMA are debris removal, emergency protective measures, repair or replacement of roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities, and parks and recreational facilities.

Counties now designated for public assistance are Adams, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Clark, Crawford, DuPage, Fulton, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Ogle, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Will and Woodford.

Counties designated for individual assistance are Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Clark, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford. Individuals in these counties can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fema.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

The deadline to register for FEMA disaster assistance is Tuesday, July 9.

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 FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

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Brown County Approved for FEMA Public Assistance

FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS tO HELP FIGHT COLORADO’S WEST FORK COMPLEX FIRE

DENVER – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the West Fork Complex in Mineral and Rio Grande counties.

FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Doug Gore has approved the state’s request for a Federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). At the time of the request, the fire was threatening over 200 homes in and around the town of South Fork and numerous rural subdivisions and scattered homes. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for 250 to 300 homes and there are several thousand additional tourists included in the mandatory evacuation area. The fire is also threatening watersheds, recreation and tourism in the area. US Highway 160 is closed due to the fire between the town of South Fork and Treasure Falls.

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Fire Management Assistance Grants are provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund and made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to cause a major disaster. Eligible items can include expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; mobilization and demobilization activities; and tools, materials and supplies.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders and 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.

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FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS tO HELP FIGHT COLORADO’S WEST FORK COMPLEX FIRE

FEMA Authorizes Funds to Help Fight Black Forest and Royal Gorge Fires

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Royal Gorge Fire in Fremont County and Black Forest Fire in El Paso County.

At the time the State of Colorado submitted the requests for a fire management assistance declaration for both fires were threatening homes, businesses and infrastructure. Hundreds of people had been evacuated in both areas.

FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Doug Gore determined each of the fires threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster, and the state’s requests for Fire Management Assistance Grants were approved for both fires.

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FEMA Authorizes Funds to Help Fight Black Forest and Royal Gorge Fires

FEMA Authorizes Funds to Help Fight Colorado’s East Peak Fire

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the East Peak Fire in Huerfano County.

FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Doug Gore approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) immediately upon receiving the state’s request. At the time of the approval, the fire was threatening 250 homes in and around the town of La Veta and Walsenburg and various rural subdivisions and ranches. The fire has destroyed nine structures and four outbuildings on Boy Scout Ranch near Walsenburg, CO and it is threatening the Spanish Peak Hospital and dozens of commercial structures to include infrastructure, utilities, equipment and watersheds in the area.

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FEMA Authorizes Funds to Help Fight Colorado’s East Peak Fire

Emergency Generators Power Town After Sandy Comes Ashore

TRENTON, N.J. – Superstorm Sandy left many thousands of homes, municipal services and emergency service facilities across New Jersey without power.

But Seaside Heights, a Seaside Heights generators Seaside Heights, NJ generators were essential for emergency services during Superstorm Sandy. – Photo by Rosanna Arias Jersey Shore barrier island borough, escaped the massive power outages that most other areas faced because of its three peak-demand generators which had been protected from high water when they were installed.

“Initially, we powered them on to supply electricity for the firehouse, emergency management, the police headquarters and the municipal building,” Seaside Heights Borough Superintendent William Rumbolo said.

Because Sandy’s impact on the borough would be unpredictable, officials began preparations for the storm by having emergency workers and officials go door-to-door encouraging residents to evacuate. As Sandy got closer, officials moved the borough’s fire trucks inland to Toms River to escape anticipated flooding and brought in three army trucks the Office of Emergency Management Coordinator obtained for emergency transportation.

When Sandy came ashore, the storm brought winds that knocked down telephone poles, knocking out power and trapping emergency responders and residents who failed to heed the evacuation warnings.

Emergency responders (approximately 45 firemen and 30 policemen) were able to use the generators to keep electricity going and complete rescue missions.

For three weeks, Seaside Heights used the generators to power the community. “We fired up the generators and made some connections so that we could run the whole town,” Rumbolo said. Borough officials originally proposed the idea of obtaining generators to help reduce the cost of wholesale power during peak demand times.

The three two-megawatt diesel generators and their installation cost the borough nearly $4 million. The generators were initially intended to be used during heavy power use hours, to reduce community power consumption and give the borough a better rate when purchasing electricity.

The borough made the decision to power the generators with diesel fuel in the initial installation, which worked out well during the storm since natural gas – the other option – was unavailable to the island after the storm.

“We were able to truck in diesel fuel and run the generators,” said borough officials. “If these things had been powered by natural gas, we would not have been able to use them.”

Sandy brought flooding to the area but the generators had been installed approximately 43 inches above the ground and one foot above the Base Flood Elevation.

Although Seaside Heights officials did not buy and install the generators primarily to be a backup power source, having them was crucial to keep the town running in the aftermath of the storm.

Officials powered up two hotels in the borough so that the responders and those rescued could have a place to stay. They were also able to power the water main to supply running water throughout the borough.

Having the generators protected from storm surge and fully operational gave the borough the ability to safely house the emergency responders as close to the damaged area as possible enabling them to continue uninterrupted response operations.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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Emergency Generators Power Town After Sandy Comes Ashore

FEMA Mitigation Outreach June 25 through June 30

AURORA, Ill. – Individuals who sustained damages during the recent severe weather can gain valuable information about repairing and rebuilding their damaged property in a stronger, safer and smarter way by visiting one of the FEMA mitigation teams located at home improvement centers throughout the area.

The mitigation teams will be available at five area home improvement centers Tuesday, June 25 through Sunday, June 30, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The locations of the centers are:

Cook County

Home Depot

3500 N. Kimball Ave.

Chicago, IL 60618

Lowe’s Home Improvement

8411 S. Holland Rd.

Chicago, IL 60602

DuPage County

Home Depot

475 Schmale Road

Carol Stream, IL 60188

Lake County

Home Depot

2731 W. Hartigan Road

Volo, IL 60041

McHenry County

Home Depot

2461 Richmond Road

McHenry, IL 60050

Individuals and families in 33 counties whose dwellings were damaged in the severe storms of April 16 to May 5 should register with FEMA for federal and state assistance that may be available.

They can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov.

Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fem a.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

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FEMA Mitigation Outreach June 25 through June 30

FEMA advisory flood-risk data maps released for Rockland County, N.Y.

NEW YORK–The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps (ABFEs) for Hudson River communities in Rockland County, N.Y. The ABFEs reflect the best available data from the most recent analysis of coastal flood hazards along the Hudson River and are based on sound science and engineering. ABFEs are derived from more recent data and improved study methodologies compared to the data and analyses used to prepare the existing Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).

ABFEs will help Rockland communities along the Hudson River better understand flood hazard conditions and rebuild safer and stronger for future events such as Hurricane Sandy. The ABFEs for Rockland are the result of requests by local government and advocacy by elected officials for FEMA to develop ABFEs for Hudson River communities in Rockland County. As a result FEMA initiated a new project to process storm surge data and prepared the requested

ABFE maps to support rebuilding and recovery in those communities.

FEMA encourages communities in Rockland County to use this information in instances where base flood elevations have increased and/or where new Special Flood Hazard Areas are shown on the ABFEs. Using these ABFEs will help state and local officials with their rebuilding and recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy and will guide property and business owners of damaged or destroyed property with their own decisions about rebuilding.

More information on ABFEs is available at www.Region2Coastal.com.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, www.twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.

More information on ways to protect your property from disasters to come is available at: www.fema.gov.

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FEMA advisory flood-risk data maps released for Rockland County, N.Y.

More Than $185 Million in FEMA Funds Have Assisted Souris Valley

MINOT, N.D. – In the two years since historic flooding struck the Souris Valley in North Dakota, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided more than $185 million in assistance to help the region recover. This is funding that has gone directly to residents or local communities to restore homes or damaged public infrastructure, as well as enact measures that will lessen the impact of future disasters. The agency also manages a program that provided temporary housing for more than 2,100 households, and is still assisting residents today.

North Dakota received a federal disaster declaration on May 10, 2011, for statewide flooding. The initial declaration provided funding for public infrastructure. As flooding intensified, the declaration was expanded on June 24, 2011, to provide assistance to individuals and businesses as well. A total of 44 of 53 North Dakota counties were included as well as four tribal nations. FEMA continues to maintain a presence in the Souris Valley, with approximately 50 personnel still in the region, with additional support coming from the regional office in Denver.

FEMA received 8,256 applications for assistance from residents of the Souris Valley, representing about 80 percent of the 10,286 total for the state. Similarly, the $91.2 million distributed to residents for rental assistance, home repairs and other serious disaster-related needs represents 95 percent of the total $95.8 million for the state.

In addition, FEMA brought in nearly 2,200 manufactured housing units to provide housing for those displaced by the flood. More than 1,100 of those were place on private properties, allowing homeowners to stay near their damaged dwellings to make repairs. Units also were placed at five manufactured housing parks in Ward County. Three temporary housing sites were also constructed, including the 600unit Virgil Workman Village – which is the only one remaining in operation – still housing approximately 200 households.

Of the nearly $242 million approved statewide for infrastructure assistance following the 2011 floods, nearly $90 million was provided to the four Souris Valley counties (Ward, Renville, McHenry and Bottineau). Among the larger recipients of assistance were: the city of Minot – $8.6 million; the city of Burlington – $1.6 million, the Minot Park District – $3 million and Ward County (including townships) – $10.3 million.

The largest beneficiary of public assistance funds is the Minot Public Schools. FEMA is providing $24.5 million to replace Erik Ramstad Middle School and $5 million to replace Lincoln Elementary School. FEMA also has provided an additional $25 million for activities ranging from emergency protective measures to building repairs at other locations to temporary classrooms to replace offline facilities. The temporary classrooms were provided within 10 days of the planned starting date for the 2011-12 school year and are still in use.

Thus far, more than $4 million in funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) has been provided to the Souris Valley. Funding has been provided for generators, home acquisitions, mitigation planning, and engineering, permitting, and design work for a floodwall to protect the Minot Water Treatment Plant. HMGP provides funding for projects that seek to minimize the impact of future disasters, and is administered by the state. More than $70 million was provided by FEMA to North Dakota for projects statewide, with additional projects still under consideration.

FEMA also engaged its Long Term Community Recovery team in Ward County. Members of the public participated in a series of meetings to voice their views about the future of their communities. The information gathered at the meetings was used to develop the “Souris Basin Regional Recovery Strategy,” which was adopted by Ward County and the cities of Burlington and Minot.

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More Than $185 Million in FEMA Funds Have Assisted Souris Valley

Disaster Assistance May be Available for HVAC Systems

AURORA, Ill. – The summer cooling season has arrived in Illinois and those in areas affected by the April 16 to May 5 storms may be eligible for repair or replacement of heating, ventilation and cooling systems (HVAC) if they were damaged or destroyed by flooding and were not covered by insurance.

“FEMA’s mission includes ensuring that all homes affected by the flooding are habitable,” said W. Michael Moore, federal coordinating officer for the disaster. “In order for homes to be habitable, furnaces and central air conditioning systems must be in good working order.”

Federal disaster assistance may cover the cleaning and testing of a flood-damaged HVAC system and replacement if the unit was destroyed because of storms during the incident period. To be considered, Illinois residents must first register for assistance from FEMA by the Tuesday, July 9 deadline.

Those who discover their HVAC system needs repair or replacement after they already received a FEMA grant for this disaster that did not include money to repair their HVAC system can file an appeal for additional disaster funds. However, the appeal must be made within 60 days of the date of the original grant or determination letter.

When filing an appeal, survivors must submit a letter requesting additional funds and a verifiable estimate or an itemized receipt by a contractor that states that the estimate or actual cost paid is not an upgrade, that the repair was necessary to make the home habitable and is disaster related.

Applicants may be eligible for costs related to the repair or replacement of the furnaces, including the cost for labor. If the furnace is located on the ground-level floor or basement, FEMA encourages the applicant to elevate the unit.

Low interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration also cover repairs to HVAC systems. Disaster survivors with insurance should not wait for an insurance settlement before applying to the SBA. If survivors do not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, the SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan.

It is important that anyone receiving an SBA disaster loan application complete and return it. Returning the application does not obligate you to accept an SBA loan; however, it is a necessary step to be considered for other additional forms of federal disaster assistance.

It is not necessary to visit a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) to register with FEMA. Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fema.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

The deadline to register for FEMA disaster assistance is Tuesday, July 9.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

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Disaster Assistance May be Available for HVAC Systems