7 October 2005

Governor asks for Federal assistance for severe flooding in Kansas

In response to the damage assessments that have been done during the last few days in the flood affected areas in Kansas, Governor Kathleen Sebelius is asking the Federal government for assistance.

“We've seen significant damage to homes and businesses. Lives have been disrupted and property destroyed. My heart goes out to those Kansans affected by the flooding,” she said.

According to Kansas Emergency Management, assessments show that the damage does not meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) criteria for grants to individuals. Despite this, the Governor intends to seek federal assistance, in this case from the Small Business Administration.

“We continue to hope the federal government will be able to offer assistance to residents. I'm requesting the Small Business Administration provide low-interest loans to individuals to help their recovery,” the Governor said.

The Governor is requesting a Small Business Administration declaration for Jefferson, Leavenworth and Shawnee Counties due to the heavy rains and flooding that accompanied the severe thunderstorm during the evening hours of Oct. 1 and the early morning of Oct. 2.

Although hundreds of households were affected by the flooding, most of the damage was confined to the cities of Rossville in Shawnee County, Grantville in Jefferson County and Easton and Leavenworth in Leavenworth County. State and local assessment teams have identified at least 25 homes and/or businesses that appear to meet the 40 percent uninsured damage criteria for the Small Business Administration program in each of these three counties.

“We’ve also seen serious damage to public roads, bridges and other public infrastructure as a result of the rain and flooding,” said Sebelius. “Damage assessment teams have found more than $4 million in public infrastructure damage, so I intend to ask for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for help rebuilding critical infrastructure.”

State and county preliminary damage assessment teams were in Jackson, Jefferson and Leavenworth Counties on Wednesday and in Atchison and Shawnee Counties on Thursday of this week. On Monday, Oct. 10, state and county damage assessment teams will be in Pottawatomie County to determine the extent of damage there.

Joint teams, including representatives from FEMA, the state of Kansas and county personnel, will begin a final assessment for declaration request purposes as soon as FEMA team members, who are assisting with the hurricanes, are available.