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From the beginning, recovery has been a team effort. During the past three months, faith-based and community groups, private sector and local, state and federal officials joined forces with survivors to help rebuild lives and communities affected by the April tornadoes in Alabama. Much progress has been made.
Key developments
- 88,000 individuals and households registered for federal assistance.
- So far, $149 million in grants and loans has been provided to individuals, households and businesses. This includes more than $67 million in grants by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $82 million in Small Business Administration loans.
- 9.2 million cubic yards of debris has been removed, 92 percent of the estimated total.
- More than 8,000 households have received rental assistance.
- Inspectors have examined more than 49,000 structures.
- Through a $2 million federal grant, 13,000 people have received free crisis counseling through the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- FEMA mitigation experts have provided 57,000 people information on low-cost ways to rebuild stronger and safer.
- More than 1,200 Alabamians, including state and local officials, were provided information on safe rooms and stronger construction through the Safer Alabama Summit and the Alabama League of Municipalities Expo.
- To date, more than $50 million has been set aside to help communities pay for damaged roads, bridges, public buildings, utilities, water control facilities, recreational facilities, debris removal and protective measures.
A fast response
- Within 72 hours of the April 28 presidential disaster declaration, FEMA disbursed more than $400,000 to help disaster-affected Alabamians pay for temporary housing assistance, uninsured personal property losses, disaster-related medical, dental and funeral expenses and other serious needs.
- Fifteen Disaster Recovery Centers opened within seven days of the declaration, quickly giving survivors in the hardest-hit areas a place to meet face-to-face with recovery staff. Eventually, 49 centers opened throughout Alabama to reach more than 34,000 survivors.
- The first temporary housing unit was installed May 11, less than two weeks after the declaration. As of today, more than 300 families who lost their homes in the tornadoes have been provided with a temporary manufactured home.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers quickly replaced critical facilities destroyed in the tornadoes with temporary structures, including one facility housing a police department and six housing fire departments and other critical services.
Rebuilding for a stronger future
- More than $33 million was set aside in unprecedented up-front federal funding to help local municipalities save lives and protect property in the future.
- With the University of Alabama, FEMA designed and ...