President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration for the State of Oklahoma. With this declaration, federal aid will be made available to the supplement state. This comes after the flooding and ice storms experienced by residents back in November 27-29, 2015.
By signing the disaster declaration, federal funding is now made available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments. Not to mention, certain private non-profit organizations may have access to the funds on a cost-sharing basis. The funding will be used for emergency work and repairing of facilities which were severely damaged by the winter storms and floods.
Among the counties that will be receiving fededral funding include Grant, Alfalfa, Kingfisher, Beckham, Kiowa, Blaine, Logan, Caddo, Major, Canadian, Roger Mills, Custer, Washita, Dewey, Woods, Ellis, Grady, and Oklahoma. Hazard mitigation measures throughout the state will also be receiving a cost-sharing basis from the federal fund.
Based on preliminary damage assessments, the storms brought in wreckage and response costs that amounted to about $19.7 million. If additional aid is need after this amount, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that help could be given at a later date. However, further damage assessments need to be done to determine the extent of the damage.
As of this writing, Oklahoma residents remain without power after the winter storm that hit the state Sunday night and early Monday morning. Over 100 individuals were injured by the winter storm and at least three deaths have been counted for. These deaths were attributed to the heavy rainfall which caused flooding in certain parts of the state. The victims drowned as a result of the flooding.
The State of Oklahoma is currently placed under a 30-day state of emergency after the series of storms that have affected the 77 counties lying throughout the state.
