FEMA opens disaster-recovery center

Home

Related Photos

Discussion

July 2, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Jul 02, 2009, 09:48 PM CDT

By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

A veteran of floods and ice storms, Charles Smith has had to rebuild the inside of one house and cut up a lot of downed tree limbs in the past 50 years.

In May, fierce winds sent giant trees toppling in his front yard and deprived his rural Webb City home of electricity for several days. He had some flooding in his basement.

Smith entertained bids for the removal of a 100-foot length of tree and for work on his basement, although the 71-year-old decided to do the job himself after seeing the prices.

“I’ve always been self-reliant anyhow,” Smith said Thursday. He said he has temporarily forgone his summer fishing plans to cut up downed trees, and replace the carpeting and linoleum in his basement with tile that he is installing himself.

“You can either cry about it and say ‘woe is me,’ or you get off your a-- and get it fixed,” he said.

Local officials and residents say cleanup operations from the May 8 windstorm are substantially complete in Jasper County, while the federal government is ramping up its assistance programs.

Keith Stammer, emergency management director for Joplin and Jasper County, said he thinks communities have been recovering well despite the damage to private and public structures.

“Unfortunately, we’re experienced in this,” Stammer said. “For the most part, everyone is cleaned up or close to cleaned up.”

Last week, local governments, school districts and other public institutions were briefed about the assistance available to them through a federal disaster declaration. The public sector in Jasper County sustained $1.3 million in storm damage. Stammer said the damage was assessed and repaired quickly, with the work complete or almost complete.

Much of that damage was confined to Carthage Water & Electric Plant infrastructure and to areas of Carl Junction.

In Carthage, the storm took down “a lot of trees all over town,” said Bob Williams, executive director of the local utility.

“There were some places where really big trees came down and took down electric lines,” he said. “We had 300 to 400 customers without power at one point.”

There also was heavy tree damage at the Carthage Municipal Golf Course. Downed trees have been cleared away, but workers said there still is some work ahead in removing trunks and filling holes left where trees toppled, roots and all.

Federal aid

President Obama last month granted a disaster declaration, making qualified homeowners, renters and property owners in 28 Missouri counties, including Jasper and Newton, eligible for aid in the wake of storms between May 8 and 16.

Obama also issued a companion “public sector” declaration covering utility companies in 46 counties, including Jasper and Newton. That declaration allows local governments and certain utilities to be reimbursed by the federal government for most of the costs they incur for emergency response and for repairs to public infrastructure.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and its state counterpart on Thursday opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Joplin as an additional resource.

Dianna Gee, a FEMA public information officer, on Thursday reiterated that people affected by the severe weather should register with FEMA. Residents who had property damage and who were either uninsured or underinsured could qualify for assistance that includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and for other significant disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.

Although people are not required to visit the center to apply for aid, Gee said the center offers “one-stop shopping” for those seeking information about the various forms of assistance available not only through FEMA but also through other state and federal agencies, such as disaster unemployment assistance.

People can check the status of a claim, ask questions about the recovery status and review information FEMA needs to process an individual’s claim.

FEMA also is the starting point for those who could end up applying for aid through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBA representatives are also at the recovery center to answer questions about the agency’s low-interest disaster loan program for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations. These loans are for repairing or replacing real estate and/or personal property damaged by the severe storms in May.

‘Back on track’

Randy Woodward, 3038 W. 16th St., said an insurance company has covered much of the damage his family experienced from the May 8 windstorm.

The Woodwards’ back yard and pool, along with several vehicles, were damaged when television station KSNF’s tower toppled.

“A lot of cleaning,” Woodward said Thursday. “A lot of work. We are slowly getting things back on track.”

The labor has included landscaping and cleanup that the Woodwards themselves did. They have replaced their pool and furnace.

Two of the family’s three vehicles that were damaged are still in the shop for repairs. Woodward said they have borrowed one vehicle from his in-laws.

The family does not intend to apply for any federal assistance.

“We don’t need any of that,” he said.

Staff writers Anne Hershewe and Susan Redden contributed to this report.

Information you can use

How to register with FEMA: Online, visit www.disasterassistance.gov. By phone, call (800) 621-FEMA or, for text telephone service, (800) 462-7585. The phone numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

n Information needed to register: A phone number, the address of the damaged property, a brief description of the damage, a Social Security number, insurance information and a current mailing address. The registration deadline is Aug. 17.

Location of disaster-recovery center: First United Methodist Church, Fourth Street and Byers Avenue, Joplin.

Disaster-recovery center hours: The center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays until further notice. The center will be closed this Saturday for the holiday.