Feds issue $125M to Joplin, state

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development yesterday allocated $125 million for the state of Missouri, the majority of which is directed toward Joplin tornado recovery efforts.

Part of $514 million allocated to nine states nationwide, the funding is provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grant program to support long-term disaster recovery, according to a news release.

Joplin is slated to receive $113.3 million to aid its continuing economic and structural recovery following the EF-5 tornado that devastated the city May 22, 2011. The additional funding supplements roughly $54 million allocated to Joplin in January 2012.

“In the last two years, many communities have had to deal with the reality of our changing climate and the increasing severity of natural disasters,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in the release. “HUD is continuing to work closely with state and local partners to help them realize a locally driven vision for restoring and rebuilding housing, infrastructure and businesses that have been affected.”

The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law Jan. 29 by President Barack Obama, includes $16 billion in disaster recovery funding through HUD's CDBG program. Areas identified for funding included the southeast and Missouri due to tornadoes; the Northeast and New England after suffering damage from Hurricane Irene; parts of North Dakota that had severe flooding; and areas of Texas areas that experienced wildfires, the release said.