Two Tennessee Counties Added to Federal Disaster Declarations

Gibson and Lauderdale counties to receive assistance for April 19 storms

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced today President Obama granted a request to provide federal Individual Assistance in two additional counties as part of the current disaster declaration in Tennessee for the record flooding of the Mississippi River, beginning on April 19, 2011.

“Our citizens in these two counties will now be able to register for FEMA assistance, which aid their recovery process,” Haslam said. “I want to thank FEMA as they continue to enable these programs to assist Tennesseans and local governments.”

Individuals in Gibson and Lauderdale counties are now eligible for federal assistance and residents who sustained losses in these counties can begin applying for assistance immediately through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), by registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).

At present, a total of 17 counties are receiving individual assistance.  Gibson and Lauderdale counties previously were designated to receive Public Assistance in all categories, which allows the counties to apply for reimbursement of certain expenses related to the disaster response and recovery.

More information on FEMA’s Public Assistance program can be found here: http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/index.shtm.

More information on Tennessee’s four federal disaster declarations in 2011 can be found on FEMA’s website here: DR-1965, DR-1974, DR-1978 and DR-1979.

For more updates regarding the state’s response, visit the TEMA website at www.tnema.org.