FEMA Reimburses Tupelo, Utilities for Tornado Cleanup

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved more than $2.43 million in Disaster Relief Fund grants to support debris removal and utility repairs in Northeast Mississippi.
The grants for debris removal within the city of Tupelo and rural electrical line repairs were approved to support regional progress in recovering from the deadly tornadoes and severe weather that hit Northeast Mississippi on April 28. The funding will be made available to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for distribution to the City of Tupelo and the East Mississippi Electric Power Association.
“These federal grants represent another step in the process to recover from those severe April storms. The devastation was significant, but not enough to challenge the resilience of the good people in the path of the storm,” said Cochran, a member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over FEMA.
“I am pleased that the federal government has resources in the Disaster Relief Fund to dedicate toward our needs in Mississippi,” he said.
The City of Tupelo will receive $1.39 million for debris removal within its city limits. The FEMA Public Assistance Grant money represents 85 percent of the projects’ cost of $1.63 million.
The East Mississippi Electric Power Association has been granted a $1.04 million Public Assistance award to support permanent repairs to its tornado-damaged electrical distribution system. This grant will cover 75 percent of the $1.39 million project cost.
As a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, Cochran has supported appropriations bills that, pursuant to the Budget Control Act, ensure that sufficient funding is in the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund to support estimated costs associated with an average disaster year.
FEMA Public Assistant Grants represent supplemental disaster assistance offered to state, local, tribal and certain types of private, nonprofit organizations for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities