Monday, April 28, 2008

Illinois Flood Aid Tops $8 Million

Federal officials have approved more than $8 million in grants and loans in Illinois for Iroquois and Livingston county residents who had damage from the severe storms and flooding Jan. 7 through March 14. However, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) officials stress that less than two weeks remains to apply for assistance.

To apply by the May 6 deadline, residents should call the FEMA Helpline at1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired applicants. Both lines are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (CDT).www.fema.gov. For individuals who have already applied, their cases will continue to be processed, but no new telephone or online applications will be accepted after the deadline.

Disaster recovery efforts through April 24 include:

  • Exactly 1,267 individuals (homeowners, renters and business owners) already have applied for assistance. (Iroquois County: 757 and Livingston County: 510)

  • More than $3.6 million ($3,661,745) in grants has been approved in housing assistance for 786 applicants to be used for temporary disaster housing or to help make disaster-damaged, uninsured homes safe, sanitary and functional.

  • A total of $719,362 in Other Needs Assistance (ONA) already is approved for 362 applicants to replace personal property and to help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs.

  • More than 238 home and business owners have returned their U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) application packets for low-interest loans. So far, the SBA has approved $3,656,800 for 95 low-interest loans.

  • May 6 also is the deadline for applicants who received SBA low-interest loan applications to complete and return the packet. If the SBA application is not returned, FEMA will not consider the applicant for other forms of federal assistance.

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