FEMA Dollars Continue To Support Crucial Health Care Services In Southeast Louisiana 

Release Date: June 15, 2012
Release Number: 1603 – 978

» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Rita
» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina

NEW ORLEANS –The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced $289,150 in Katrina-related recovery aid to the Metropolitan Human Services District, the lead Louisiana state agency charged with providing addiction, behavioral health and developmental disability service to citizens of Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes.

Pre-Katrina, the MHSD operated out of a facility owned by the Louisiana Office of Facility Planning and Control—the New Orleans Mental Health Center, located at 3100 General DeGaulle Drive in New Orleans.

In addition to FEMA’s recent funding for MHSD, FEMA previously obligated $1.3 million directly to FP&C for work necessary to restore the actual New Orleans Mental Health Center facility, which was damaged significantly during Katrina. As a result, MHSD had to move its service-oriented operation to temporary facilities in order to continue providing services.

“Our recent funding to the Metropolitan Human Services District reimburses the agency for costs associated with using temporary facilities, including trailer rentals and land leases, following Katrina,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Deputy Director of Programs Andre Cadogan. “Our assistance is significant because, through supporting Louisiana’s overall recovery, we are also supporting state efforts to offer vital public services, including mental health services, throughout Southeast Louisiana.”

The building of the new, post-Katrina New Orleans Mental Health Center is scheduled for completion at the end of this summer; and once it’s completed, MHSD plans to then move back into the facility at the same location as it was before Katrina.

“These FEMA funds help ensure that residents of New Orleans’ West Bank can have their needs met in an appropriate setting. The opening of this facility also contributes significantly to MHSD’s commitment to establish the first true continuum of care model for the communities we serve,” said Judge Calvin Johnson (ret.), Metropolitan Human Services District executive director.

To date, FEMA has obligated approximately $11.5 billion in public assistance funding for Katrina and Rita related recovery work throughout Louisiana.

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

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.

Last Modified: Friday, 15-Jun-2012 10:31:00

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FEMA Dollars Continue To Support Crucial Health Care Services In Southeast Louisiana

Texas Hurricane History Demonstrates Need to Prepare For Upcoming Season 

Release Date: May 30, 2012
Release Number: R6-12-101

» 2012 Region VI News Releases

DENTON, Texas — Fourteen hurricanes and six tropical storms since 1961, which resulted in federal disaster declarations, serve as reminders to Texans that now is the time to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

The 2012 Hurricane Season begins on June 1, and while experts are predicting a slower season than in past years, most of the predictions still call for at least a normal amount of activity. The 50 year average is a little over 11 named storms, six of those becoming hurricanes and two becoming major ones – Category 3 or higher.

In the last 50 years, Texas has had 20 storms that resulted in federal declarations. Fourteen were hurricanes and six were tropical storms. The hurricanes were Carla (1961), Cindy (1963), Beulah (1967), Celia (1970), Allen (1980), Alicia (1983), Gilbert (1988), Bret (1999), Claudette (2003), Katrina (2005 – Emergency), Rita (2005), Dolly (2008), Ike (2008) and Alex (2010). The tropical storms were Danielle (1980), Allison (1989), Charley (1998), Frances (1998), Fay (2002) and Erin (2007).

Six of the hurricanes and two of the tropical storms occurred in the last decade and resulted in the Lone Star State receiving approximately $7.5 billion in federal disaster aid. That assistance fell under both the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) and Individuals and Households (IHP) programs and included funding for direct housing, crisis counseling, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment, and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans.

Hurricane Katrina in Texas was an emergency declaration and provided reimbursements to the state for housing Katrina evacuees.

There have been no hurricanes or tropical storms resulting in a FEMA disaster declaration in the past two years, but several storms have affected the state nonetheless. Tropical Storm Hermine in 2010 caused major inland flooding in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 stirred up winds that exacerbated a weekend wildfire in Bastrop County.

“These statistics more than demonstrate the need for all Texas to be prepared,” said Acting FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “We say it often, but it’s the best way to get a clear message out there – Get a Kit, Make a Plan and Stay Informed.

For more information on the upcoming hurricane season, please visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes and www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare.

Volunteering is one way to be prepared to help others. Use VolunteerMatch to locate local Red Cross volunteer opportunities in your community. You can also visit www.citizencorps.gov for ways to help and be prepared.

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.

Last Modified: Thursday, 31-May-2012 10:57:43

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Texas Hurricane History Demonstrates Need to Prepare For Upcoming Season

Oklahoma’‘Hurricane Season’ History Demonstrates Need to Prepare Now 

Release Date: May 30, 2012
Release Number: R6-12-100

» 2012 Region VI News Releases

DENTON, Texas — One major hurricane, which resulted in a federal disaster declaration, serves as reminder to Oklahomans that now is the time to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

The 2012 Hurricane Season begins on June 1, and while experts are predicting a slower season than in past years, most of the predictions still call for at least a normal amount of activity. The 50 year average is a little over 11 named storms, six of those becoming hurricanes and two becoming major ones – Category 3 or higher.

Reports show that Oklahoma has had one storm that resulted in a federal declaration. It was an emergency declaration for Hurricane Katrina (2005) and resulted in the state receiving more than $12.7 million in federal disaster aid under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance program.

The state received an emergency declaration after Katrina impacted Louisiana. The funding was made available to reimburse Oklahoma for its costs related to housing Katrina evacuees.

In addition to hurricane winds and rain, the season also brings threats of flooding and tornadoes which can and have impacted states that are not on the coast.

“The bottom line is that Oklahomans should be prepared for all hazards,” said Acting FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “We say it often, but it’s the best way to get a clear message out there – Get a Kit, Make a Plan and Stay Informed.

For more information on the upcoming hurricane season, please visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes and www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare.

Volunteering is one way to be prepared to help others. Use VolunteerMatch to locate local Red Cross volunteer opportunities in your community. You can also visit www.citizencorps.gov for ways to help and be prepared.

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.

Last Modified: Thursday, 31-May-2012 10:55:13

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Oklahoma’‘Hurricane Season’ History Demonstrates Need to Prepare Now

Arkansas ‘Hurricane Season’ History Demonstrates Need to Prepare Now 

Release Date: May 30, 2012
Release Number: R6-12-097

» 2012 Region VI News Releases

DENTON, Texas — One major hurricane and two tropical storms, which resulted in federal disaster declarations, serve as reminders to Arkansans that now is the time to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

The 2012 Hurricane Season begins on June 1, and while experts are predicting a slower season than in past years, most of the predictions still call for at least a normal amount of activity. The 50 year average is a little over 11 named storms, six of those becoming hurricanes and two becoming major ones – Category 3 or higher.

Reports show that Arkansas has had three storms that resulted in federal declarations. One was an emergency declaration for a hurricane and the other two for tropical storms that were downgraded from hurricanes by the time they moved into Arkansas.

The hurricane was Katrina (2005) and the tropical storms were Gustav and Ike (2008). All three occurred in the last decade and resulted in Arkansas receiving a total of $51.9 million in federal disaster aid under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance program.

The state received an emergency declaration after Katrina impacted Louisiana. The funding was made available to reimburse Arkansas for its costs related to housing Katrina evacuees. Meanwhile, tropical storms Gustav and Ike brought inland flooding to Arkansas and caused major damage to its public infrastructure.

“These statistics more than demonstrate the need for all Arkansans to be prepared,” said Acting FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “We say it often, but it’s the best way to get a clear message out there – Get a Kit, Make a Plan and Stay Informed.

For more information on the upcoming hurricane season, please visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes and www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare.

Volunteering is one way to be prepared to help others. Use VolunteerMatch to locate local Red Cross volunteer opportunities in your community. You can also visit www.citizencorps.gov for ways to help and be prepared.

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.

Last Modified: Thursday, 31-May-2012 10:52:09

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Arkansas ‘Hurricane Season’ History Demonstrates Need to Prepare Now

FEMA Urges Preparedness for Hurricanes and Severe Weather 

Mobile wireless emergency alerting capabilities will be available nationwide through participating carriers

Release Date: May 24, 2012
Release Number: HQ-12-038

WASHINGTON, D.C. Hurricane Season begins June 1, 2012, FEMA is providing additional tools for federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officials to alert and warn the public about severe weather. Using the Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, which is a part of FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, this structure will be used to deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to wireless carriers for distribution to the public.

The CMAS system will allow the National Weather Service to soon begin issuing WEAs for the most dangerous weather through participating wireless carriers directly to cell phones. The alerts will be broadcast by cell towers much like an AM/FM radio station, and cell phones within range will immediately pick up the signal, provided they are capable of receiving these alerts. The availability of WEA alerts will be dependent on the network status of the wireless carriers and handset availability, since not all cell phones can receive WEAs. People should check with their cellular carriers to see if WEA alerts are available in their area.

“The wireless emergency alert capability provides an additional opportunity for the public to receive life-saving information needed to get out of harm’s way when a threat exists,” said Timothy Manning, FEMA deputy administrator for protection and national preparedness. “The public also has a critical role in their personal preparedness. There are a few simple steps that everyone can take to be prepared, like knowing which risks exist in your area and making a family emergency plan. Information and resources to help individuals and families prepare can be found at ready.gov.”

WEAs will look like a text message, and will automatically appear on the mobile device screen showing the type and time of alert along with any action that should be taken. The message will be no more than 90 characters, and will have a unique tone and vibration, indicating a WEA has been received. If an alert is received, citizens should follow the instructions and seek additional information from radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio, and other official sources for emergency information. Citizens should only call 911 in a life threatening situation.

Only authorized federal, state, local, tribal or territorial officials can send WEA alerts to the public. As with all new cellular services, it will take time for upgrades in infrastructure, coverage, and handset technology to allow WEA alerts to reach all cellular customers.

FEMA urges individuals and businesses to take action to prepare themselves in advance of severe weather and hurricanes such as taking the pledge to prepare at www.ready.gov/pledge. This is the first step in making sure you and your family are ready for an emergency This includes filling out your family communications plan that you can email to yourself, assembling an emergency kit , keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.

With the start of hurricanes season it is even more important to know your risk, take action, and be an example. While hurricanes often offer some warning that a threat is approaching, severe weather can occur at anytime and in any place, including high winds, inland flooding, severe storms and tornadoes.

For more on family preparedness, visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes for more planning information and safety tips.

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.

Last Modified: Thursday, 24-May-2012 13:35:51

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FEMA Urges Preparedness for Hurricanes and Severe Weather

FEMA Deputy Administrator Praises Emergency Medical Services 

Release Date: May 23, 2012
Release Number: HQ-12-036

WASHINGTON, D.C. — National Emergency Medical Services Week is May 20-26, and is an opportunity to recognize medical personnel for their dedication and service to the community. As part of this important week, FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino praised EMS professionals nationwide, and emphasized the important role they play in their communities – especially during times of disaster.

On May 23, Serino spoke at the Alameda County Emergency Services Conference in California, where he thanked those in the EMS profession for their hard work and dedication. He recognized that medical personnel are an important part of the emergency management team, operating at the intersection of public health and public safety.

“In a time of crisis, it is the EMS professionals who are the first on the scene,” said Serino. “They are the first to offer care and comfort, and they are the first to offer that immediate assistance when we are most vulnerable and hurting.”

Serino previously served as the Chief of Boston EMS and the Assistant Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, and has been in the EMS community for more than 35 years.

“Over the years, I have watched how technology and new innovations have changed the EMS profession. While the tools that we use have changed over the years, one thing hasn’t: the selfless commitment and dedication that EMS professionals bring to their jobs each and every day,” said Serino.

“I am very proud and honored to not only be part of the EMS community, but also to salute my fellow EMS professionals for the great work they do to save lives, while sometimes putting their own lives at risk.”

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.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 23-May-2012 16:43:58

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FEMA Deputy Administrator Praises Emergency Medical Services

Louisiana’s Legal System Receives Recovery Aid From FEMA, Benefiting The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court 

Release Date: May 21, 2012
Release Number: 1603 – 975

» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Rita
» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina

NEW ORLEANS – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today approximately $103,000 in consolidated public assistance funding to the Louisiana Judicial System, helping the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in New Orleans replace contents damaged during Hurricane Katrina.

During the storm, floodwaters fully inundated the basement of the courthouse, located at 2700 Tulane Avenue within the city. Pre-Katrina, this area provided office space for various Orleans Parish Criminal District Court departments, including the Judicial Administration Office which handles administrative functions required for the court to operate.

“Katrina’s floodwaters stayed in the courthouse’s basement for approximately two weeks following the storm, damaging all contents within these offices,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Deputy Director of Programs Andre Cadogan. “Our recent grant assists with replacing damaged contents, helping Louisiana’s Judicial System fully recover from Hurricane Katrina as needed.”

Contents to be replaced with FEMA’s aid include computer equipment and two-way radios, as well as drug testing equipment.

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

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.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 22-May-2012 10:34:01

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Louisiana’s Legal System Receives Recovery Aid From FEMA, Benefiting The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

St. Bernard Parish’s Public School System Enters Final Leg of Recovery 

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Release Number: 1603-974

» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Rita
» More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today a $148.3 million consolidated grant to the St. Bernard Parish School Board, largely supporting the implementation of their post-Katrina, overall recovery plan.

“For nearly six and a half years, we have been steadfast in our efforts to fully rebuild our schools for the children of St. Bernard. These efforts, comprised of partnerships between our school board, FEMA and the state, have culminated in this monumental grant, which allows us to finish our final recovery endeavors,” said St. Bernard School Board Superintendent Doris Voitier.

During Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard Parish’s public school system was destroyed, with most of their facilities rendered inoperable following the storm. Prior to the unprecedented destruction, these facilities served nearly 9,000 students throughout the local community.

“Given the reality of the large-scale catastrophe at hand, St. Bernard Parish School Board Superintendent Doris Voitier had to swiftly make initial, yet effective, recovery decisions with the goal of quickly returning students to school. Through her leadership, these early efforts transformed into a comprehensive recovery plan that is now nearing fruition,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Deputy Director of Programs Andre Cadogan.

The school system’s new layout is built upon the determination that rebuilding all damaged facilities at their original locations was not in the best interest of the community’s post-Katrina needs. Instead, the same functions and capacities that existed pre-Katrina were restored in a different configuration.

FEMA’s recent grant supports these efforts, approving Voitier’s consolidated alternate project request for the agency to streamline federal funding provided for 15 damaged facilities into nine targeted projects.

The nine projects include Chalmette High School; Chalmette High School’s baseball field house, football field house and storage facility; Maumus Arts Center and Planetarium; new Lacoste Elementary School; the Cultural and Performing Arts Center; the school system’s transportation, maintenance and storage building; Arabi Elementary School’s gymnasium; J.J. Davies Elementary School’s enclosed walkway and new Gautier Elementary School.

“Our consolidated funding best reflects the needs of the St. Bernard Parish School Board as they embark on their final rebuilding efforts and becoming the first school system in Louisiana destroyed by Hurricane Katrina to reach their end goal—full recovery,” added Cadogan.

In total to date, FEMA has provided approximately $500 million in public assistance to the St. Bernard Parish School Board for all recovery work related to restoring their school system following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

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.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 02-May-2012 08:16:57

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St. Bernard Parish’s Public School System Enters Final Leg of Recovery

Pay it Forward: Volunteers Make the Difference 

Local Municipalities Learn ‘Secrets’ to Earning FEMA Matching Dollars

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Release Number: 4056-004

» More Information on Washington Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

LACEY, Wa — In the January 2009 flood, the small town of South Prairie in east Pierce County was inundated by mud. A local high school initiated an MLK Day service project for its students. Coordinating efforts with the mayor, nearly 75 kids showed up to be a ‘mud brigade,’ shoveling mud out of critically needed roadways, buildings, and the town’s only Fire Station driveway.

Volunteers are the lifeblood in any community-but more so in those communities struck by swirling floodwaters, damaging mudslides or landslides slamming over roadways, compounded by ice, heavy snow, and rain.

And minimizing damage in the midst of a devastating maelstrom such as was handed to Washington citizens in the January 2012 severe winter storms is where volunteers can do double duty. Not only are they working amidst disaster, they are also ‘paying it forward’ by offsetting some of the unanticipated and unbudgeted emergency costs swamping affected cities and counties.

The time citizens and volunteer groups spend sandbagging, clearing debris from clogged drains, taking and logging calls, staffing warming centers, and many other duties may be an “allowable reimbursement under the FEMA Public Assistance programs,” according to the state’s Emergency Management Division Public Assistance Program Manager Gary Urbas. “But volunteer efforts need to be organized and documented correctly. The sad thing is that many states throughout the country do not even apply for donated resources.”

At least two Washington counties, Pierce and Snohomish, found a bright spot in a declared disaster recovery process: the tracking and documenting of volunteer worker efforts, generally called ‘Donated Resources.’ This process has nearly reimbursed their share of matching funds required by FEMA Public Assistance Programs for declared disasters.

For South Prairie, according to Barbara Nelson, Pierce County’s neighborhood emergency team (PC-NET) liaison, “we sent the town forms for documenting the sign-in and sign-out of each of these kids. They collected permission slips from parents, and the County’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) was able to count those substantial volunteer hours toward reimbursement.”

This one volunteer effort brought nearly $11,000 to South Prairie. Pierce County’s volunteer efforts netted reimbursements totaling $29,000.

Once a presidential disaster declaration is issued and damages are documented, FEMA can provide up to a 75 percent cost reimbursement for eligible projects. State and local entities then must come up with a 25 percent shared cost match.

“Our contribution of donated resources allows us to meet our local match requirement and be eligible to receive additional funding to cover our emergency work costs,” said Veronica Hill, Pierce County’s DEM administrative program manager.

Snohomish County, hard hit by the winter storms in 2006, had already developed a County Disaster Assistance Program complete with disaster assistance employee job descriptions. By using sign-in/sign-out sheets and capturing detailed information, they were able to document these volunteer hours, assign a pay rate for each volunteer job, and submit a detailed claim. In doing so, Snohomish County was able to meet the County’s 12.5% match and received 75 percent of its claim for $42,700 in donated resources-adding about $32,000 into its general fund.

“We’ve approached the donated resources issue in a more institutionalized method,” according to John E. Pennington, Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) director. Staff developed this method of how to best track volunteer hours within its Disaster Assistance program by creating position descriptions and pay rates.

Since then, Snohomish County has emerged as a leader for programmatically implementing a Disaster Assistance Program according to Urbas, by codifying task responsibility and job descriptions. According to Diana Rose, DEM’s admin finance program manager, the county is also able to actually ‘hire’ temporary Disaster Assistance Employees to cover critical jobs during emergency situations, if needed, because the job description and pay rate already exists.

Yet still, in the heat of disaster, counties and cities often miss out on documenting many hours of disaster volunteer help because many jurisdictions haven’t approached volunteer management systemically and citizens don’t realize their efforts really do count.

For a complete listing of volunteer groups or to get additional information, contact Barbara Nelson, Pierce County Neighborhood Emergency Teams Liaison, Pierce county Citizen Corps, bnelso1@co.pierce.wa.us or 253 798-2168.

For additional information about Snohomish County’s donated resources program, contact Diana Rose at Diana.Rose@co.snohomish.wa.us or 425.388.5062.

For additional information about Pierce County’s donated resources program, contact Richard Schroedel, at rschroe@co.pierce.wa.us or 253.798.6596.

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.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 25-Apr-2012 08:44:19

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Pay it Forward: Volunteers Make the Difference

Federal Disaster Aid Total In Kentucky Exceeds $14 Million 

Release Date: April 6, 2012
Release Number: 4057-051

» More Information on Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding

FRANKFORT, Ky. — More than $14 million in federal disaster assistance has been approved for Kentucky survivors of the recent severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding occurring Feb. 29 through March 3.

“The swift action by our local, state and federal partners in response to this natural disaster has allowed millions of federal dollars to go directly to our families as they recover and rebuild their lives,” Gov. Steve Beshear said. “We will continue to monitor and assist in these long-term recovery efforts until every community is stable and thriving once again.”

To date:

  • Over 5,000 Kentuckians in 21 designated counties have contacted FEMA for help or information regarding disaster assistance.
  • More than $6.3 million has been approved for housing assistance, including short-term rental assistance and home repair costs.
  • More than 2,580 homes sustained damages. Of those, more than 671 were destroyed.
  • Over 4,400 households have received FEMA grants to help pay for temporary housing.
  • Over 2,940 inspections of damaged properties have been conducted.
  • Over $6.7 million in low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses has been approved by the Small Business Administration.
  • Nearly $1.6 million has been approved to cover other essential disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses and lost personal possessions.

The 14 Kentucky counties eligible for help from FEMA’s Public Assistance program are Ballard, Grant, Johnson, Kenton, Larue, Laurel, Lawrence, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Morgan, Pendleton, Trimble and Wolfe.

Public Assistance is available on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, utilities, schools and similar facilities. Public Assistance is also available to certain private nonprofit agencies and organizations.

Commonwealth counties eligible for Individual Assistance are Bath, Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Grayson, Johnson, Kenton, Larue, Laurel, Lawrence, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Pendleton, Rowan, Russell, Trimble and Wolfe.

Individual Assistance for homeowners and renters can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses not met by insurance or other assistance programs.

Kentucky Emergency Management and FEMA are encouraging Kentuckians to make sure their friends, neighbors and family members have registered with FEMA for federal disaster assistance.

The federal disaster assistance registration deadline for Individual Assistance is May 7.

Disaster officials stress the importance of returning the SBA loan application survivors may have received as part of their registration package. Completion of the application provides information that may determine eligibility for further federal disaster assistance.

There are three ways to register with FEMA for help or information regarding disaster assistance: call 800-621-FEMA (3362), register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or register using a tablet or Smartphone by visiting m.fema.gov. Help is available in many languages.

Disaster applicants who use TTY should call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service should call 800-621-3362. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, every day.

Kentucky Emergency Management urges anyone who has storm damage to their residence or other property to document the damage by photographing or videoing it and to maintain a list of any repairs and keep repair receipts. Report the damage and location to your county emergency manager.

Free crisis counseling, supported by a grant from FEMA, is available to Kentuckians who suffer from stress, anxiety or depression as a result of the recent storms and flooding. Persons who need this assistance and live in Johnson, Magoffin, or Martin County call 800-422-1060; residents of Bath, Lawrence, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Rowan, or Wolfe counties call 800-562-8909; citizens in Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Kenton, or Pendleton County call 859-331-3292; and in Laurel County, call 888-640-9335.

The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides Commonwealth, local governments and certain private nonprofits with grants to improve the ability of public facilities to withstand future disasters.

More disaster-specific information can be found on the Kentucky Emergency Management website at www.kyem.ky.gov.

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.

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

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

Last Modified: Friday, 06-Apr-2012 18:07:23

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Federal Disaster Aid Total In Kentucky Exceeds $14 Million

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