More rain on the way as flood victims receive assistance

After a round of thunderstorms Monday evening, Southeast Missouri can expect two days of dry weather before a storm that looks eerily similar to the massive rains of March 18 reaches the region Thursday.

As of 10 p.m., with thunderstorms continuing, Cape Girardeau had received 0.92 of an inch of rain since midnight, increasing the total for the month to 17.45 inches, breaking the record for a single month, 16.89 inches, set in May 1973.

A flash flood watch and small river and stream flood warning were issued Monday night and remained in effect until this morning, as 1 to 2 inches of rain were expected within a few hours.

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau fell below flood stage at 4 a.m. Monday for the first time since the late evening of March 18, the day more than 11 inches of rain fell in the city. The river is expected to fall a bit more before beginning to rise slowly later in the week as northern rains move downstream. The forecast included precipitation for Monday but does not take into account predictions for later in the week.

The forecast models used by the National Weather Service disagree on the total amount to expect Thursday but not the overall prediction, said Alex Dodd, a meteorologist at the weather office in Paducah, Ky. Recent rains have kept the ground saturated, making the Thursday storm a potentially dangerous one, he said.

One model predicts 4 to 5 inches of rain, while another indicates 3 to 4 inches will fall. The storm will bring a lengthy period of rain, Dodd said. Forecast models indicated the March 18 storm would produce 7 or 8 inches of rain, Dodd noted.

"Since we are already saturated and the rivers are running high, we are almost at a more vulnerable position than we were on March 18," he said.

Help for flood victims

As forecasters were watching the skies, victims of the flooding received a new avenue to obtain help -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Piedmont, Mo.

In a separate move, Southeast community organizations are opening one-stop centers in Marble Hill, Mo., and Delta on Wednesday and Thursday for flood victims.

FEMA will accept applications from individuals and businesses in 19 counties declared eligible for assistance to individuals who suffered damages in torrential rains of March 18 and subsequent flooding.

Piedmont, in western Wayne County, was one of the hardest-hit towns in the path of the storm, which dumped up to 13 inches of rain across a large swath of southern Missouri. Along with Wayne County, residents of Bollinger, Iron, Reynolds and Carter counties, which also suffered severe damage and are adjacent to Wayne County, are eligible for the disaster help.

The shelter is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday in the AARP building, also known as the county community center, on Highway 34 next to Piedmont High School, said Jack Heesch, a spokesman for FEMA.

The disaster center brings representatives of state and federal emergency agencies, including FEMA, SEMA and the Small Business Administration, together under one roof, Heesch said.

While FEMA can provide up to $28,800 per person in grants to aid recovery, Heesch cautioned that most people would not receive that amount. The grants are designed to provide emergency housing and repairs designed to make a home safe and habitable, not to restore damaged property to its pre-flood condition, Heesch said.

The grants are in addition to flood insurance and are designed to help pay for items not included in insurance policies.

"What I am seeing here and learning from talking to the few folks I have at the recovery center in Piedmont is that they have flood insurance for their homes but don't have contents insurance," Heesch said. "A FEMA grant may be available to help with that."

Disaster loans from the SBA can provide up $200,000 for homeowners to replace or repair damaged or destroyed real estate, up to $40,000 to homeowners and renters to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including automobiles, and an additional 20 percent for construction that would mitigate or prevent future flood damage.

For businesses, the loans can provide up to $1.5 million to repair or replace damaged property, machinery or inventory and an additional loan of up to $1.5 million for economic hardships imposed on a business by the disaster.

All loans carry terms of up to 30 years and interest rates substantially below market rates.

Whether additional disaster recovery centers will be established in other counties will depend on whether additional counties are added to the disaster declaration, Heesch said. All of the teams reviewing damage to private property have completed their reports and a decision should be coming within a few days, he said.

To contact FEMA about disaster assistance, call 800-621-3362 or visit the agency Web site at www.fema.gov.

Community assistance

The Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) for Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Bollinger counties will open two Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARC), one from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Baptist Church Family Life Center in Marble Hill, the other from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Delta Community Center, 211 East Delta.

The MARC is a one-stop resource for flood victims to meet with representatives of community disaster relief agencies and register for emergency assistance.

It is also a way to let community organizations know where people need help.

The four-county COAD is composed of representatives from public, private and not-for-profit agencies involved in community disaster relief.

Residents should bring identification with them that shows their address in the flooded areas. Trash containers will be at each location for the day for disaster victims to use.

For more information about the MARCs, call Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the United Way of Southeast Missouri at 334-9634 or e-mail nancy.jernigan@unitedwayofsemo.org.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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