Federal disaster aid sought after storms

Gov. Mike Parson requested Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approve a major disaster declaration for Missouri to provide federal assistance to seven Southeast Missouri counties in response to severe storms and deadly tornadoes that swept across the state Dec. 10, resulting in extensive destruction.

"Our local, state, and federal assessment teams have documented extensive damage to electric power systems and other public infrastructure as a result of the severe storms," Parson said. "Federal disaster assistance will be necessary to complete the permanent repair work and alleviate the burden of the costly damage experienced in these hard-hit communities."

The affected counties are Bollinger, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Pemiscot, Reynolds and Wayne.

If approved, local governments and qualifying not-for-profit agencies may seek federal assistance for reimbursement of emergency response and recovery costs, including repair and replacement costs for damaged buildings, bridges, roads, and other public infrastructure.

The joint preliminary damage assessments, conducted by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), FEMA and local officials estimated a total of more than $27 million in damage to public infrastructure and emergency response costs eligible for federal assistance.

On Dec. 16, Gov. Parson announced Missouri's request for joint Preliminary Damage Assessments in Dunklin, Pemiscot and Reynolds counties. Bollinger, Iron, Madison and Wayne counties were later added to the request, after more damage was documented locally. Both state and county thresholds set by FEMA must be met in order for a county to be included in the request for Public Assistance.

Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) were hosted Dec. 17 in Defiance and Dec. 18 in Hayti to assist disaster survivors with unmet needs. These MARCs served a total of 100 families.