Governor Quinn today requested that the federal disaster declaration for April flooding in Illinois be expanded to include an additional 16 counties.
Today's request asks President Obama to add Bureau, Crawford, Henderson, Knox, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties.
President Obama will make a determination, and, if approved, individuals in the approved counties will be able to apply for federal assistance.
FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers open
FEMA, along with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration has opened three Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in the declared disaster area.
The DRCs are locations where local residents who are in need of assistance due to flood damage can meet with FEMA, IEMA and SBA officials to fill out claim forms and have their questions answered face-to-face.
DRCs are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week until further notice in the following locations:
- Fulton County Health Department, 700 Oak Street in Canton
- Morris Fire Department, 2301 Ashton Road, Morris
- Lisle Police Department, 5040 Lincoln Road, Lisle
- Marseilles Fire Department, 205 Lincoln Street, Marseilles
11 Illinois counties declared disaster areas
Additional counties likely to be added to disaster declaration
The President has declared 11 Illinois counties to be federal disaster areas, making them eligible for assistance from FEMA to repair damages from the historic flooding that struck the state in April.
The declaration includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will counties. Additional counties farther south may be added later, as damage assessments in those areas are ongoing.
According to a news release from FEMA, "assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster."
Residents in need of help can contact FEMA immediately by telephone at 1-800-621-FEMA, or online at www.disasterassistance.gov. The FEMA call center is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
FEMA will begin establishing Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in the coming days. DRCs are locations in the disaster area where residents may come to meet in person with FEMA representatives to apply for aid and to get their questions answered. DRC locations and hours will be announced in local media as the centers are established.
Individual assistance is capped at $31,900 from FEMA, however additional assistance can be obtained through the Small Business Administration's (www.sba.gov) disaster loan program, or from the Illinois State Treasurer's office (www.treasurer.il.gov).
Additional counties eligible for Small Business Administration loans
In addition to the 11 counties covered under the Presidential disaster declaration, private non-profits and businesses in all bordering counties are eligible for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration. Eligible counties include: Boone, Bureau, Kankakee, Knox, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Schuyler, Tazewell, Warren, Winnebago and Woodford. More information is available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. The deadline to apply is July 9.