Sunday, June 07, 2009
FEMA Has Approved Nearly $6 Million In Kentucky
According to figures released from Frankfort, as of Saturday, 2,621 individuals in Kentucky had applied for FEMA assistance, while $6.2 million had been approved, and $5.9 million had been given to residents whose homes were destroyed by the May flooding. Close to $700,000 had been approved to help cover personal losses, medical costs and other expenses not covered by insurance. Buddy Rogers, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, says there's no way to tell how long the recovery process will take. Federal and state officials visited Magoffin County last week, adding up damages while trying to meet the FEMA threshold for grants and loans.
Don Jacks, FEMA public information officer, says officials are attempting to debunk myths and rumors. "Only uninsured or underinsured property is eligible to be repaired or replaced by FEMA," he said, "and it doesn't necessarily matter if you live in a flood plain...you still might qualify for aid."
Pike County Judge Executive Wayne Rutherford announced at a meeting Friday that delays in disbursement of previous disaster funds have pinched some county budgets. He guessed the county was waiting on a large chunk of money from a 2003 flood repair project. Nancy Price, government liaison for the Kentucky Emergency Management Department, says that's a sign counties need to keep track of paperwork and follow-up as projects are finished. She says there's a lot of money from FEMA that never gets claimed or applied for, or it waits in state accounts much longer than it needs to when counties don't follow-up with proper procedure.
Don Jacks, FEMA public information officer, says officials are attempting to debunk myths and rumors. "Only uninsured or underinsured property is eligible to be repaired or replaced by FEMA," he said, "and it doesn't necessarily matter if you live in a flood plain...you still might qualify for aid."
Pike County Judge Executive Wayne Rutherford announced at a meeting Friday that delays in disbursement of previous disaster funds have pinched some county budgets. He guessed the county was waiting on a large chunk of money from a 2003 flood repair project. Nancy Price, government liaison for the Kentucky Emergency Management Department, says that's a sign counties need to keep track of paperwork and follow-up as projects are finished. She says there's a lot of money from FEMA that never gets claimed or applied for, or it waits in state accounts much longer than it needs to when counties don't follow-up with proper procedure.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 6:40 PM 
