President Rules Flooding A Disaster; Aid Available

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced federal aid is being made available to help Cook County recover from the April 18 flooding.

From FEMA:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Illinois and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period of April 16 to May 5, 2013.

The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, and Will counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.     

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

W. Michael Moore has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Moore said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated county can begin applying for assistance by registering online athttp://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov.  Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

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