Friday, January 26, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Announces Joint Assessment Teams To Survey Ice Storms Damage for Missourians
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt announced joint federal, state and local damage assessment teams will begin canvassing the 38 counties and the City of St. Louis looking at uninsured losses and the economic impact to businesses from the recent winter storms.
“The devastation Missouri felt from the winter storms was of great magnitude which had a devastating impact on Missouri’s businesses,” Blunt said. “These teams will meet with the county and local officials to collect uninsured damages Missourians and economic losses businesses have sustained from the winter storms and extended power outages.”
The joint damage assessment teams are made up of local officials, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and Small Business Administration (SBA) representatives. The team will look at information collected by the local governments and will canvas areas with local officials. The storm system caused power outages to over 330,000 electric customers statewide, caused 15 weather related deaths, opened more than 119 shelters for over 4,300 citizens, caused massive debris from ice encrusted tree limbs. The information collected will be used to see what federal resources will be available to help citizens and businesses recover from the recent storms.
Blunt encourages any citizen who has suffered uninsured losses, or any business who has suffered economic losses to submit the information to their local city or county officials. The information will be given to the joint teams when they visit each of the 38 counties.
The 38 counties the teams will be canvassing are: Barry, Barton, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cedar, Christian, Cole, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Montgomery, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Louis, Stone, Texas, Warren, Webster, Wright Counties and the City of St. Louis.
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