Cape Girardeau, Perry, Stoddard counties included in disaster request

Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday requested a major disaster declaration from the federal government for 30 Missouri counties, including three local counties, for damage from storms and flooding since the end of May.

State Emergency Management Agency teams have conducted damage assessments in 30 counties because of severe weather and flooding around the state in late May and early June, according to a news release from the governor's office.

Several counties would be included for public assistance, including Cape Girardeau, Perry and Stoddard. Local governments in these counties would have access to federal money for response and recovery expenses, if the declaration is granted. Nixon is asking for individual assistance for seven counties: Callaway, Lincoln, Montgomery, Osage, Pike, St. Charles and St. Louis.

Severe flooding also struck Southeast Missouri in late April and early May. Those dates weren't included in the request.

SEMA public information officer Mike O'Connell said Cape Girardeau and Stoddard counties had road and bridge damage, including washed-out gravel and damage to low water crossings.

The rough estimate SEMA workers came up with from surveying Cape Girardeau County was about $750,000 in repairs. The estimate for Stoddard County is about $118,000.

The assessment teams are joint groups and include members of SEMA and local, state and federal representatives.

More accurate estimates will be available if federal funding is approved.

Tim Gramling, director of the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department, said SEMA workers came to Cape Girardeau a few weeks ago to assess damage related to flooding, focusing on sinkholes on South Sprigg Street. Gramling said the sinkholes, exacerbated by June flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, likely are the most significant damage in the county. Gramling also said it's difficult to say when Cape Girardeau will find funding to fix the sinkholes.

"Without the declaration, it's an open-ended question," he said. "With that [funding], it's a possibility, but there's still a long process to go through."

botto@semissourian.com

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