Disaster declaration made for Barry County flooding
August 12, 2015
Charlea Mills
A month after floods ravaged Barry County, the President declared Barry County as a federal disaster, making funds available for public damage.
According to a press release on August 8, the declaration includes Barry in a list of 68 counties across the state that received the disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Federal funding will be made available to public entities on a cost-sharing basis to clean-up and repair of areas damaged by the torrential rains that caused flooding across the county.
According to Public Works Director Steve Walensky, the City of Cassville spoke with both FEMA and SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency) when they came to assess the flood damage in the week after it occurred. Governor Jay Nixon also came down to Roaring River State Park to see what had happened and make statements about how help would be provided.
Gov. Nixon requested a disaster declaration for Barry County, among others, on July 21, but the final decision was not made by FEMA until last week. While public funds will be available to cities and other entities, no decision has been made regarding individual assistance for individuals who had property damaged from rising waters in July. There is no anticipated date for when or if individual disaster assistance will be available.
Walensky said that the City is still working on a final damage estimate. “There are so many pieces to this, it isn’t an easy process because so many areas were damaged. I just got in a couple of estimates for damage on some parking lots this week, so we are still getting information together.”
He said, “All I did was an original estimate when FEMA and SEMA came down before. It was preliminary information on damage to the fencing and bridge, but we are still getting damage estimates from different vendors.”
While some of the areas affected were obvious, such as the 7th Street bridge and fencing around the city park, ball park and well, other areas also will need major repairs. The dirt at the ball fields will need to be replaced, as well as various electrical systems. The city will also need multiple loads of gravel, mulch for the playgrounds that were flooded and concrete to the Greenway Trail.
According to FEMA, funding guidelines for assistance are:
• Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for emergency protective measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health for state and local governments on a cost-sharing basis.
• Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities such as roads, bridges, utilities, buildings, schools, recreational areas and other publicly-owned property. Non-profit organizations involved in community service will also be eligible.
• Payment of not more than 75 percent of the approved costs for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural disasters.
FEMA also released information that application procedures would be announced during local meetings to the affected areas by recovery officials.
Charlea Mills
A month after floods ravaged Barry County, the President declared Barry County as a federal disaster, making funds available for public damage.
According to a press release on August 8, the declaration includes Barry in a list of 68 counties across the state that received the disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Federal funding will be made available to public entities on a cost-sharing basis to clean-up and repair of areas damaged by the torrential rains that caused flooding across the county.
According to Public Works Director Steve Walensky, the City of Cassville spoke with both FEMA and SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency) when they came to assess the flood damage in the week after it occurred. Governor Jay Nixon also came down to Roaring River State Park to see what had happened and make statements about how help would be provided.
Gov. Nixon requested a disaster declaration for Barry County, among others, on July 21, but the final decision was not made by FEMA until last week. While public funds will be available to cities and other entities, no decision has been made regarding individual assistance for individuals who had property damaged from rising waters in July. There is no anticipated date for when or if individual disaster assistance will be available.
Walensky said that the City is still working on a final damage estimate. “There are so many pieces to this, it isn’t an easy process because so many areas were damaged. I just got in a couple of estimates for damage on some parking lots this week, so we are still getting information together.”
He said, “All I did was an original estimate when FEMA and SEMA came down before. It was preliminary information on damage to the fencing and bridge, but we are still getting damage estimates from different vendors.”
While some of the areas affected were obvious, such as the 7th Street bridge and fencing around the city park, ball park and well, other areas also will need major repairs. The dirt at the ball fields will need to be replaced, as well as various electrical systems. The city will also need multiple loads of gravel, mulch for the playgrounds that were flooded and concrete to the Greenway Trail.
According to FEMA, funding guidelines for assistance are:
• Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for emergency protective measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health for state and local governments on a cost-sharing basis.
• Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities such as roads, bridges, utilities, buildings, schools, recreational areas and other publicly-owned property. Non-profit organizations involved in community service will also be eligible.
• Payment of not more than 75 percent of the approved costs for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural disasters.
FEMA also released information that application procedures would be announced during local meetings to the affected areas by recovery officials.