No Flood Assistance For Homeowners, Renters

December 23, 2009

aerial-flomaton10.jpg

It looks like there will be no flood assistance coming from the government for individual homeowners and renters in Escambia County, Alabama.

Escambia County did not meet the threshold of damages to request individual assistance, Escambia County Emergency Management Director David Adams announced Tuesday.

Damage assessment teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alabama Emergency Management, local agencies and municipalities have completed their damage assessments. Based upon Escambia County’s population, $5.88 million in damages would have been needed for a federal disaster declaration to get the individual assistance monies flowing. The total damages to public infrastructure — such as roads and bridges — were about a half million below the threshold.

“The assessments will be compiled and merged with the assessments from the other affected counties and then forwarded to Governor (Bob) Riley. Governor Riley will then make the request for federal declaration and FEMA Public Assistance. Public Assistance is assistance to local governments and responder agencies to aid in recovery from damages to facilities and infrastructure and other expenses incurred during the response,” Adams said.

Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration have complete damage assessments in an effort to provide assistance to businesses, homeowners and renters, Adams said. If SBA assistance is issued, he said, assistance may be available in the form of low interest loans.

Pictured above: An aerial view of the flood in Flomaton. File photo courtesy the Alabama Forestry Commission for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

9 Responses to “No Flood Assistance For Homeowners, Renters”

  1. Janice on December 24th, 2009 12:32 pm

    INSANE!!!! God Bless the people who have given help to my parents….WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT!!! I guess had my folks been standing on their roof with their grandchildren, MAYBE something wouldve been done….OK GOV. RILEY…time to “MAKE ALABAMA BETTA!” as you said!

  2. North Escambia Resident on December 24th, 2009 8:53 am

    Another very good point, Jim. There are two things I’ve often wondered along those two subjects:

    1. If we have homeless and hungry HERE, why in the world are we paying to feed the hungry and house the homeless elsewhere when we haven’t taken care of our own yet? If we do that in our personal lives, we will be accused of neglect but because the government does it, we call it compassion.

    2. Isn’t it kind of stupid to go to another country and destroy everything and then come in and rebuild it? Why tear it down if we’re going to be the ones to replace it? Isn’t the purpose of war to show our might and to punish the other country for a wrongdoing? So why do we reward them by building them a NEW and BETTER country than they had before? We spend billions and trillions to replace what the war destroyed and then we spend next to nothing on what WE need HERE. I understand trying to be magnanimous but isn’t that going a little too far with it? There is so much that that money could be used for here instead of giving it to another country that has done wrong.

    It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

  3. Jim Stanton on December 24th, 2009 6:41 am

    I used feel as Billy does about the government helping in situations like this. But the past 10 years or so have caused me to completely reverse my feelings about it, after seeing billions upon billions of U.S. Taxpayer dollars wasted overseas (with billions unaccounted for) in the form of foreign aid to governments and others. Until the United States stops sending money overseas, whether because of war or natural disaster, I don’t have a problem with a person in this country getting help from the government because of a disaster. After all, the money was taken from us in the form of taxes, not the people overseas.

  4. North Escambia Resident on December 24th, 2009 12:50 am

    Oh, I’m sorry but I thought that the government WAS our community and fellow Americans since WE, the community and Americans, are the ones who fund it. Forgive me for my stupidity, Billy.

  5. Billy on December 23rd, 2009 3:43 pm

    Its the community and fellow American’s job to help these people, not the government’s. This is one reason why our country is in such horrible shape.

  6. JJ on December 23rd, 2009 3:03 pm

    FTFA – “Based upon Escambia County’s population, $5.88 million in damages would have been needed for a federal disaster declaration to get the individual assistance monies flowing. The total damages to public infrastructure — such as roads and bridges — were about a half million below the threshold”

    Well, that was convenient.

  7. atmore resident on December 23rd, 2009 2:13 pm

    you know this is crazy i just moved to atmore and I was on my way home and got stranded in the water on horner street a lady allowed me to come in her home you should have seen the water coming into her home it messed her carpet and walls jup horribly!!!!

  8. S.L.B on December 23rd, 2009 10:52 am

    If you lived in New Orleans OR another country you would get assistance on top of assistance for a disaster. Our government is peeing all over themselves to help them out. Nothing here lately really surprises me anymore!

  9. anobserver on December 23rd, 2009 10:39 am

    this is hard to believe that we aren’t going to get any help…especially right here at christmas when we have just had to spend a lot of money, now we have to put out more to fix our homes…this is a shame!!!!!!!!!!!

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