Will FEMA assist southwest IL residents with flood recovery efforts? Here’s an update
State and local officials are urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help metro-east residents recover from a flood that devastated communities and properties last month.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker submitted a request for federal assistance on Tuesday, according to St. Clair County Emergency Mangement Agency Director Herb Simmons.
“I know it seems like it’s taken a month, and it has, but, again, we don’t have control of that,” Simmons said during a briefing Wednesday afternoon. “All we can do is do the job to get to where we are now.”
On July 26, up to 12 inches of rainfall in the St. Louis metropolitan area, including southwestern Illinois, caused severe flash flooding. East St. Louis was among the hardest-hit towns in the metro-east. Simmons said FEMA has up to 30 days to respond to the state’s request.
“We have our fingers crossed that we will hear something sooner than that. The same storm that affected Missouri right across the river impacted us,” Simmons said. “As I told IEMA and everybody else that we have talked to, we’re just wanting our residents throughout our county (to get assistance)--because it wasn’t just a few communities. We had properties in Mascoutah, Lebanon, Swansea, Caseyville, East St. Louis, Washington Park that all suffered damages from this flooding.”
“We’re hopeful now that FEMA will take our plea that we’re doing with them in saying that, ‘Hey, our residents here are just as important.’”
FEMA has already approved millions of dollars in disaster assistance for Missouri flash flood victims.
If a federal disaster is declared , FEMA determines what type of assistance that will be provided. Simmons said one possibility could be for residents to borrow low-interest federal loans for any uninsured loss related to the flood. He said that program can still be a feasible if the disaster isn’t declared.
‘Equal consideration’
A joint preliminary assessment between the state and federal agencies took place on Aug. 17-19.
Simmons said Wednesday that 784 properties reporting damages in 12 communities were surveyed from that assessment. Earlier this month, it was reported that 534 homes had an estimated $8.4 million damages in 11 communities.
Local officials have stated that the county would need to meet a $9 million threshold for a federal disaster declaration for damages to homes, but FEMA said via email on Wednesday that there is no set number of damaged homes and costs incurred that will result in a presidential disaster declaration.
“When determining whether the Individual Assistance program is warranted, each disaster is evaluated individually on the impacts that have overwhelmed the capacity and resources of the state government,” the email stated. “FEMA does not use a numerical threshold when evaluating a request for Individual Assistance. FEMA considers numerous factors—economic impact and recovery costs are just a few of those. Other considerations include insurance coverage, ability of the community to recover, disaster-impacted population profile, and resources already available from the state and local governments and voluntary organizations active in the area.”
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Sens Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), along with the Illinois congressional delegation, issued a letter to President Biden in support of Pritzker’s request to FEMA.
“It is worth noting that these were the same storms that caused damage across the river in Missouri, following which you swiftly approved Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s request for a Federal Disaster Declaration,” the letter stated. “We believe Illinois residents deserve equal consideration amid the same weather events to receive federal assistance toward recovery as well.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 5:27 PM.
