Disaster relief for MO communities for 2017 flooding

MISSOURI (KFVS) - On April 28, 2017, Missouri was consumed by historic flooding that affected thousands of families as it pushed rivers and streams to crest.

Even homes and businesses in areas that had never been flooded, flooded.

It became the state's costliest disaster since the Joplin tornado of 2011.

It also lead to a federal major disaster declaration that included 55 of Missouri's 114 counties.

As the one-year anniversary of the disaster approaches, local recovery projects have been approved at three times the pace of Missouri's most comparable flooding disaster, in 2015, with more than $56 million in assistance already approved and flowing to Missouri communities.

Download the KFVS News app: iPhone | Android

"Cutting down on the time government takes to process paperwork means Missouri communities get the funding they need to rebuild roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure as soon as possible," said Governor Eric Greitens.

• As a result of the 2017 flooding, about 225 different local governments and non-profit agencies filed for federal assistance with Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency for a total of almost 1,000 different recovery projects like road repairs and rebuilding small bridges.
• The total cost of these projects is now estimated at $114 million.
• The federal share of these recovery projects is expected to surpass $85 million (the federal government pays 75 percent of approved project expenses).
• The state of Missouri pays 10 percent of approved project expenses or potentially as much as $11.4 million.
• Through April 16, more than 90 percent of projects and $56.2 million in funding had been approved and flowing to local governments following the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s strict application process, which includes formulating and budgeting for each separate project, federal reviews to ensure compliance with all statutes, and final FEMA review and approval.

Copyright 2018 KFVS. All rights reserved.