FEMA awards nearly $1 mil for Pierce City shelter

The $973,000 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program grant covers 90 percent of the cost of the new shelter, to be built near the high school football stadium.

The city applied for the grant after an F-3 tornado wiped out more than 80 homes and most of its downtown businesses in 2003.

“We have found, in cases where we had threatening weather and we had to move people from the football stadium or a track event, that our facilities are inadequate,” said Lois Klatt, Pierce City Schools superintendent, in a news release.

About 800 applications were received nationwide. Recipients were chosen based on feasibility of proposed projects, cost effectiveness, necessary staffing, risk factors and benefits to the community.