By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Federal officials have approved Missouri’s request for a major disaster declaration to recover from the damage left in wake of storms late June through the first of July.
With approval of the request made by Gov. Mike Parson, federal funds will flow to 21 counties, including many in northwest Missouri. Among the counties are Andrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Daviess, Grundy, Holt, and Ray.
The Governor’s August 13th request included $10 million in qualifying disaster-related expenses that had already been identified.
“FEMA’s approval of our request means millions of dollars in federal and state reimbursements will now go to hard-hit communities in 21 Missouri counties,” Parson said in a written statement released by the governor’s office. “We appreciate the hard work of our local emergency managers and officials to assess the damage and tally expenses to meet the initial federal reporting requirements. Their communities and taxpayers will now benefit from their efforts.”
The counties included in the disaster declaration qualify for reimbursement for emergency response costs and repairs to roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure.
Missouri’s request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency was for damage and emergency response costs incurred due to severe storms and flooding from June 19th through July 1st. FEMA only granted relief for damage done from June 24th to July 1st.
State Emergency Management Agency officials are lobbying FEMA to expand the declaration to include June 19th through the 23rd.