CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Illinois Emergency Management Agency announced today that $3,759,186 in federal funding has been made available to the city of Alton for costs related to the state’s response to the severe storms and flooding under the federal disaster declaration of September 19, 2019.
This funding will reimburse the city of Alton for costs to restore the failed retaining wall and repair the roadway, sidewalk, fencing and stormwater drainage along Riverview Drive. The grant also includes costs to reduce the potential for similar damage during future extreme rain events, through the installation of new storm sewer lines with water-tight gaskets, redirecting the water away from the wall.
“FEMA’s Public Assistance program assists local recovery efforts after a disaster,” said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5. “This grant funding will not only reimburse costs to repair important city infrastructure but fund efforts to help protect it from future disaster-related damage.”
“We are grateful for the partnerships that we have built with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help our communities rebuild stronger and more resilient in the wake of the longest flood in Illinois history,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “To date, the federal government has obligated more than $52 million through the FEMA Public Assistance program to help local governments, like the City of Alton, recover from the 2019 flood. Moving forward, to build more resilient communities we must work together at the local-state-and-federal level to increase mitigation projects along our riverways to minimize the risks of future flooding.”
FEMA provides a 75 percent federal share of eligible reimbursable expenses for this project. The eligible cost for this project is $5,012,248.
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to local government jurisdictions and eligible private non-profits for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged infrastructure as well as costs incurred for debris removal, disaster cleanup and emergency actions taken to protect lives or property. To learn more, visit FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit.
FEMA's mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.