Overview
- DR-4421 Major Disaster Declaration issued March 23, 2019
- Incident Period: March 12 and continuing
Current Status:
- 9 counties designated for Individual Assistance
- Harrison, Fremont, Louisa, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, Scott, Shelby, Woodbury
- 56 counties have been approved for assistance to local governments for categories of work A-G.
- 2 counties approved for categories A and B.
- As of May 14, 236 Requests for Public Assistance have been approved.
- DR-4430 Major Disaster Declaration issued April 29, 2019 for the Sac & Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa Tribe (Meskwaki Nation).
- Direct declaration to the Tribe (grantee)
- Eligible assistance: Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation
- First direct disaster declaration for a federally recognized tribe in Iowa and in FEMA Region VII.
Individual Assistance:
Since the federal disaster declaration for Iowa, there have been 1,946 total registrations for Individual Assistance.
- As of May 14, Iowa homeowners and renters have received more than $12.3 million from the Individuals and Households Program (IHP), more than $10.9 million in housing assistance and more than $1.35 million in other needs assistance.
- As of May 13, 358 flood insurance claims have been filed. More than $6.4 million in claims have been paid to date.
- As of May 15, more than $22.8 million in U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest disaster loans have been approved for 242 homeowners and renters and 15 businesses.
- amounts provided in financial assistance total more than $53.7 million.
Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA)
- As of May 14, DSA has visited 8,897 homes (interactions with 5,787 survivors).
- As of May 13, there is one DSA team each conducting community outreach in Louisa County and Scott County.
Disaster Recovery Centers
Disaster Recovery Centers are operating in areas affected by the storm and flooding. Recovery specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provide information on available services, explain assistance programs and help survivors complete or check the status of their applications. Survivors can visit any open center for help. To find the nearest, go online at fema.gov/DRC or call the Disaster Assistance Helpline at 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY).
- There are currently 2 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) located in Fremont and Mills counties:
- Fremont County, 2014 290th Ave., Sidney, IA 51652, Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Mills County, 111 Lacey St., Glenwood, IA 51534, Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To date, the DRCs have assisted 1,386 visitors since the first one opened April 3.
- Small Business Administration (SBA): SBA representatives remain at all DRCs and at three additional locations, where customer service representatives provide information to individuals and businesses on the SBA disaster loan program.
- An SBA Business Recovery Center in Davenport is scheduled to open Thurs. May 16 (hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays):
SBA Business Recovery Center
Eastern Iowa Community College
101 West Third St.
Davenport, IA 52801
(Scott County)
Note: Closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27
-More-
Iowa Disaster Facts at a Glance-Page 3
- locations (hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mon. until close of business Thurs. May 16; appointments are not required):
- Disaster Loan Outreach Center Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Watson Steam Train and Depot Museum The Security Institute
800 W. Huron St. 4647 Stone Ave.
Missouri Valley, IA 51555 Sioux City, IA 51106
(Harrison County) (Woodbury County)
- SBA Business Recovery Center
Glenwood Resource Center
111 Lacey St.
Meyer Complex
2nd floor, Room 208
Glenwood, IA 51534
(Mills County)
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
- DUA is available to eligible individuals whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted due to severe storms and flooding beginning March 12, 2019. Individuals in Pottawattamie and Shelby counties must file applications by May 17, 2019. Applicants in Louisa County must file by June 10, 2019 and those in Scott County must file by June 12, 2019.
Latest News
- Louisa County was approved May 7 and Scott County was approved May 10 for Individual Assistance.
- Deadline for individuals and businesses owners to register for FEMA assistance has been extended to July 1, 2019.
- Avoid Another Disaster: Beware of Fraud
- FEMA never charges for services nor does it endorse any commercial business, product or service. All federal employees have an official badge/ID. Ask to see it.
- Beware of visits, calls or emails from people claiming to be from FEMA or the State of Iowa asking for your Social Security number, bank account or other sensitive information. Giving out this type of information can help an unscrupulous person make a false claim for assistance or commit identify theft.
- Federal and state workers do not solicit or accept money. FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) staff never charge applicants for disaster assistance, inspections or help in filling out applications.
- FEMA inspectors never require banking or other financial information.
- The job of FEMA housing inspectors is to verify damage. Inspectors do not hire or endorse specific contractors to fix homes or recommend repairs. They do not determine eligibility for assistance.
- FEMA inspectors will not condemn a property. Condemnation determinations are made by your local jurisdiction.
- Recovery officials encourage Iowa residents to watch for and report any suspicious activity. If you suspect fraud, contact the Consumer Protection Division of the State Attorney General’s Office at:
- Email consumer@ag.iowa.gov
- Call 515-281-5926
- Toll-free number outside of the Des Moines area: 888-777-4590
- For more information visit Attorney General consumer tips and information
Direct Temporary Housing Assistance in Iowa
- FEMA’s Direct Housing program has been approved for Fremont and Mills counties. FEMA has an internal housing task force that is dealing with the logistical-type issues associated with temporary housing units.
- The State of Iowa and FEMA are coordinating with municipalities and counties regarding local ordinances, permitting, zoning, transportation requirement, setbacks, utility connections and inspections.
- As of May 13, 25 applicants have been identified as potential temporary housing users (19 Mills and 6 Fremont counties). Universe of the housing mission is projected to be 67 (75% Commercial Pads with MHU’s and 25% private sites with RV’s).
Mitigation specialists have begun community education outreach efforts at Walmart stores in Page and Woodbury counties. Area residents can get tips and advice on making houses and businesses more disaster-resistant. Here are the times, dates and locations that FEMA specialists will be on hand:
Shenandoah: Walmart Supercenter, 705 S. Fremont St. Times: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays on the following dates: May 13-15 and May 20-22.
Sioux City: Walmart Supercenter, 3400 Singing Hills Blvd. Times: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, May 13-18.
Council Bluffs: Walmart Supercenter, 3201 Manawa Center Dr., Thursdays-
Saturdays on the following dates: May 16-18 and May 23-25.
Disaster survivors can get questions about their cases answered by calling FEMA’s Helpline at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operations are on duty. Phone lines are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, seven days a week until further notice.
For more information on disaster recovery:
Iowa assistance: www.floods2019.iowa.gov
FEMA assistance: www.fema.gov/disaster/4421
SBA assistance: www.SBA.gov/disaster or SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955.