$29.2 million in hands of flood survivors 18 days after federal aid approved

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – On Jan. 24, just three days after President Obama’s Jan. 21, 2016, disaster declaration for 33 counties in Missouri, disaster survivors began receiving grants from FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.

In the days since storms brought flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds to Missouri, survivors, equipped with nearly $29.2 million in federal assistance, low-interest loans and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, are cleaning up,

Twelve days after the disaster declaration, FEMA’s IHP program put more than $8.1 million in the hands of survivors for disaster-related housing needs, repairs to their primary residences and other disaster-related needs, such as furnishings, transportation and medical.

The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance, a partner in the recovery effort, has approved 16 disaster loans for $848,600 in the disaster-designated counties in Missouri.

The FEMA-administered NFIP has paid 563 claims totaling more than $20.2 million with an average claim of $37,470.

Counties eligible for federal assistance from the flooding and severe storms between December 23, 2015, and January 9, 2016, are 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.

More than 100 FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance specialists have canvassed hard-hit Missouri neighborhoods helping survivors connect with recovery services. Nearly 550 survivors have talked to local, state, nonprofit, nongovernmental and FEMA specialists at the four Disaster Recovery Centers in designated counties. To ensure that Missourians receive information about assistance, FEMA provides information in Spanish and many other languages.

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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 webpages 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.