FEMA grants assistance to Ind. counties

The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted Gov. Mike Pence’s appeal Tuesday for federal assistance from the severe winter storms that struck the state in early January.

Nineteen counties will receive grants from FEMA under the major disaster declaration. The state will be able to request assistance for additional counties.

FEMA had denied Pence’s request earlier this month. Pence appealed the decision, and 19 of the 49 counties the governor originally requested assistance for were promised grants.

“This has been an arduous process, but the outcome is good news for Hoosiers,” Pence said in a press release. “These grants will provide millions to local governments and select nonprofits that are hurting financially, and I congratulate counties, cities and towns for their perseverance.”

Monroe County was not one of the 19 listed to receive assistance, nor was it one of the 30 counties Pence originally requested aid for. Most of the counties named will also receive 48 hours of snow assistance.

Counties granted public assistance include Boone, Clay, Hendricks, Huntington, Jasper, Kosciusko, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Tipton, Vigo, Wabash, White and Whitley counties.

FEMA public assistance grants will pay 75 percent of county’s expenses related to damage to roads, bridges, utilities and others, as well as emergency protective measures such as traffic control and rescue operations, according to the release.

M.K. Wildeman