Disaster Declaration, FEMA, and floods

Sounds like various assistance may now be forthcoming to individuals and governments. I don't claim to be an expert by any means, and I may learn more as I get to talk to people that are. For now, the best I can do is to pass along emails I'm getting. So here is the text of some.

The first is from Story County Emergency Management:
This is both the Public Assistance Program - for governments & non-profits for infrastructure damages, protective measures and debris removal - most of you have the Public Assistance Guide. http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/pag07_t.shtm

We also just received FEMA Individual Assistance Program for residents, families and businesses. This will include programs for assistance of non-insured damages. Please remember this is for making the residence habitable - not necessarily paint, carpet, etc. and income levels will play a part of what type of program or assistance they may be eligible for. Some may be immediate funding or some may be in the form of an Small Business Administration low interest loan.

We just approved our ESF 14 Disaster Recovery Plan - more info on the process is in there.


What to expect next:

FEMA will require meetings for city, county and ISU applicants. We have already completed one Preliminary Damage Assessment so I will know more on Monday if another one will be required. I have a conference call with FEMA at 10 AM.

FEMA will conduct Applicant's Briefings or Kick off sessions for communities/county/ISU. We may need a location large enough to conduct this. Each applicant will be required to submit a Notice of Interest and again... since we did this for the July damages, I am not sure if those already submitted will be required to do another - but with additional damages, we need to ensure each government agency is a part of this process if they need assistance. More info on this soon.

Also for the community - we may be asked to host a Disaster Assistance Center where SBA, FEMA, Community Services, Red Cross, DHS, and other agencies with services can assist residents. We may need to find a place in Ames to house this... Again, more information later...

For residents, families and businesses - Direct them to the toll free phone number to apply for assistance. FEMA will arrive soon and may conduct public relations campaigns and door to door activities to promote the FEMA assistance. They will all have appropriate identification as FEMA, SBA or perhaps even Red Cross officials.

Please post the FEMA Assistance numbers/websites & notify residents as best you can.

Call 1-800-621-3362 or go to www.disasterassistance.gov
Speech or hearing impaired can call (TTY) 1-800-4627585







And then I got this one from the Governor's office. The link listed will be good to determine your eligibility.






OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Governor Chet Culver • Lt. Governor Patty Judge

For Immediate Release:
August 15, 2010
Contact:
Polly Carver-Kimm, Governor’s Office
(515) 281.0173
polly.carver-kimm@iowa.gov

Iowa Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver has received word that 29 Iowa counties have
been granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance.

“I am pleased to see the Presidential Disaster Declaration for these counties,”
Culver said. “We will continue to assess the flood-related damages and get
Iowans the assistance they need to recover from the recent severe weather and
flooding.”

The disaster declaration makes federal assistance available to affected
individuals and families in these 29 counties. Disaster assistance can include
grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured
property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners
recover from the effects of the disaster.

The counties included in the declaration are: Black Hawk, Cherokee, Clayton,
Decatur, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Howard, Humboldt, Ida,
Jackson, Jones, Kossuth, Lee, Lucas, Lyon, Marion, O'Brien, Osceola, Ringgold,
Sioux, Story, Taylor, Union, Warren, Webster, and Wright.

The State will ask for joint preliminary damage assessments to be conducted with
FEMA and local officials in counties most recently impacted by the flooding and
to request Individual Assistance be granted for those counties.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties
may immediately begin registering for assistance online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov
or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and
speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10
p.m. (local time). Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide
basic information about themselves, details on insurance coverage, and any other
information to help substantiate losses.

The declaration follows a visit to Iowa today by FEMA Region VII Regional
Administrator Beth Freeman. Freeman joined Governor Culver on a tour of damaged
areas in Des Moines and Colfax, and also made a stop in Oskaloosa.

"Today, I visited communities throughout central Iowa to get a firsthand look at
the damages caused by recent flooding," said Freeman. "Citizens and entire
communities have rallied together to fight the floodwaters and they should be
commended. I also compliment the state and local officials who have worked
quickly to provide residents with important commodities and taken other critical
steps to protect life and property."

These 29 counties that have been declared for Individual Assistance will be
added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration that authorized Public Assistance
funding for 32 counties on July 29 and 18 counties on August 13. Public
Assistance funds are available to state and local governments and certain
private nonprofit organizations (including rural electric cooperatives and
municipal utilities) for emergency work and the repair or replacement of
disaster-damaged facilities.=