Report: Greene County public agencies sustain $40M in damage

The estimate is part of SEMA’s preliminary situation report for agencies in 38 counties and the city of St. Louis that are eligible for assistance under President Bush’s federal disaster declaration. Bush authorized Federal Emergency Management Association funds after an ice storm swept through the state Jan. 12–14.

Uninsured costs to public agencies in Missouri exceed $107 million. That includes costs associated with debris removal, providing shelter, food and water, and repairing damage to school and government property, according to SEMA Deputy Director Duane Nichols.

Greene County by far sustained the most damage, due mostly to its larger population in comparison to other hard-hit areas of the state.

“Wherever you have population, you’re going to have governmental services,” Nichols said. “To take care of people and to make the government infrastructure hum again – because there’s more people to service – it takes more.”

Other southwest Missouri counties had their share of damage; estimated costs are at $2.2 million in Christian County, $4.5 million in Dallas County, $4.1 million in Polk County and $430,000 in Webster County.

FEMA can cover 75 percent of those costs for public and nonprofit agencies. The state is responsible for 10 percent, and local jurisdictions cover the remaining 15 percent, Nichols said.

Starting today, SEMA is sending five teams – each comprising a SEMA representative, a FEMA representative and a U.S. Small Business Administration representative – to cover each disaster area to estimate damages to individual, primary residences. Each team also will have a representative from the jurisdiction being covered.

Nichols said he expects those teams to finish their assessments by the end of next week and to submit a report to Gov. Matt Blunt, who then could consider applying for federal assistance for individuals.

For businesses, SBA will assess each area for damage and offer low-interest loans accordingly.