St. Clair County sustained $2.1 million in flood damage, local EMA says

The St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency completed its post-flooding damage assessment review on Sunday.

After visiting just under 200 homes that filed flood-damage claims, the agency determined that St. Clair County sustained $2.1 million in losses as a result of flooding at the end of December and the beginning of January, St. Clair County EMA Director Herb Simmons said.

Most of the claims consisted of flooded basements, damaged foundations and property loss, Simmons said. The waters ranged from 2 inches to 3 to 4 feet high.

The agency started working with other organizations, including the Small Business Administration, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to assess the damage two weeks ago, Simmons said.

St. Clair County will have to wait until IEMA gathers reports from other flooded counties before submitting its own report to FEMA, which will make the final decision as to whether the state qualifies for federal recovery assistance.

The threshold for the entire state is $18.1 million. St. Clair County had to meet $900,000 to be considered for the overall relief package.

All counties must submit their reports to IEMA by Feb. 12. The date for FEMA’s decision has yet to be set.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 5:45 PM with the headline "St. Clair County sustained $2.1 million in flood damage, local EMA says."