FEMA to provide assistance to area counties for June flooding

Jul. 31--The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide federal assistance to local governments and nonprofits in 68 Missouri counties recovering from flooding and severe storms between April 29 and July 5.

That list includes Jasper, Newton, Barry, Barton and McDonald counties in Southwest Missouri.

Floods in late June damaged many houses and businesses in the region, with Neosho and Anderson among the communities that were hit hardest.

The approval, which follows a request by state officials, means FEMA can use federal money to assist with the cost of repairing damaged roads, bridges and other public infrastructure, as well as with emergency response costs associated with the storms and flooding.

"This is important news for local governments in these 68 Missouri counties because it means they'll be receiving very substantial assistance in recovering from high disaster repair and response costs," Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement. "This federal assistance will greatly assist in those efforts and speed the pace of recovery."

FEMA's decision also makes available assistance through its Hazard Mitigation Program to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property due to natural disasters in the future, such as flooding.

FEMA said it continues to review the state's request to expand assistance to individual residents in 25 counties, including Barton, McDonald and Newton.

President Donald Trump's July 9 disaster declaration made the federal individual assistance program available to eligible residents in Jasper County. An EF3 tornado touched down on May 22 in Carl Junction, damaging more than 300 homes.

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