MORE THAN $2.7 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO OKLAHOMANS

Disaster News

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management

Federal Emergency Management Agency

June 16, 2010

Joint Field Office: Oklahoma City, OK

FEMA News Desk:  405-917-3250

OEM PIO, Michelann Ooten:  405-521-2481 (office); 405-205-1879 (cell)

MORE THAN $2.7 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO OKLAHOMANS

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than $2.7 million in state and federal grants and loans is on the way to Oklahomans affected by the May 10-13 storms and tornadoes — just over three weeks after the presidential declaration on May 24.

“We are excited that the recovery process is moving so swiftly and smoothly,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gregory W. Eaton. “Hundreds of Oklahomans have already received Individual Assistance grants and are using that money to rebuild and recover.”

The following is a summary of ongoing recovery efforts by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at close of business June 14:

• More than $1.6 million has been disbursed for temporary housing assistance and home repairs, under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP).
• More than $211,000 in Other Needs Assistance (ONA) has been disbursed to help meet serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other aid programs. These include personal property replacement, moving and storage, transportation, and medical and burial expenses.

• The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $823,000 in low-interest loans to Oklahoma homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofit organizations.

• FEMA inspectors have completed 945 inspections of damaged homes, or 92 percent of those requested to date.
• Six State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) have opened in affected counties, offering residents a chance to meet with specialists in person. The final three close June 17 in Seminole, Carter and Okfuskee counties.
• More than 500 visits have been made to the DRCs.
• The deadline to register for FEMA disaster assistance from the May storms is July 23.

“We encourage Oklahomans to register and get the process of disaster recovery started as soon as they can,” said State Coordinating Officer Fred W. Liebe. “The sooner you get the process started, the sooner we can help you.”

Residents and business owners with tornado-related losses in the affected counties may register for disaster assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week until further notice.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/Oklahoma. Click on “May Tornadoes 2010” and go to “Recovery Statistics” for county-by-county recovery snapshots. Visit the OEM site at www.oem.ok.gov or follow OEM on Twitter at http://twitter.com/okem. Users of smart phones and other mobile devices can visit m.fema.gov.

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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) prepares for, responds to, recovers from and mitigates against emergencies and disasters. The department delivers service to Oklahoma cities, towns and counties through a network of more than 350 local emergency managers.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private, non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and covers the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property.

These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call the Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).