FEMA director to tour local flooding Thursday

FEMA director to tour local flooding Thursday

Federal Emergency Management Agency director David Paulison will visit Cape Girardeau on Thursday, according to a news release sent out by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's office. Paulison's tentative itinerary includes a tour of Allenville and Dutchtown before flying to Poplar Bluff, Mo., to assess damage there. Emerson toured the flooded region last week with Col. Lewis Setliff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We've got homes and farmland still under water. This disaster is going to take a severe toll on the people of our region as well as the economy. Still, I see neighbors helping neighbors and communities pulling together, and that gives me the greatest confidence that we will persevere and overcome the challenge before us," Emerson said in a prepared statement Tuesday. Seventy Missouri counties, including all of Emerson's district, have been declared federal disaster areas.