FAYETTEVILLE — Efforts to inform Washington County families who live along the path of the New Year’s Eve tornado about government assistance begins today, five days after the storm.
“I’ve been trying to call all the right people and pull all the right strings to get them as much help as we possibly can,” said County Judge Marilyn Edwards about working with the state Department of Emergency Management.
MEETING INFORMATION
Disaster Recover Center
Information about temporary housing assistance, home repair/personal property assistance, crisis counseling. Members from the Fayetteville Social Security Office and the Arkansas Insurance Department will answer questions.
Where: National Guard Armory, 705 Pridemore Drive in Lincoln
When: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
Tornado victims can fill out government assistance applications through a toll free hotline that will begin Friday. The hotline will be open through Jan. 21, excluding the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Phones will be answered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The number is 888-683-2366
Source: Arkansas Department Of Emergency Management
Department staff will visit the area to hand out fliers advertising a two-day, information event, dubbed the “Disaster Recovery Center.”
The event begins Friday and runs through Saturday at the National Guard Armory in Lincoln, said Tommy Jackson, department spokesman. A hotline has also been set up for those who cannot attend.
Families will receive information about the state’s temporary housing and home repair/personal property assistance programs. Referrals will be given for counseling services. Staff from the Fayetteville’s Social Security office and the state Insurance Department will be there to answer questions.
The events are only for those living in the governor’s declared disaster area, meaning along the path of the tornado, Edwards said.
“You almost feel like there’s never enough getting done, but you can only run the train so fast,” Edwards said. “You don’t want to jump the gun and mess something up. You want to make sure it all falls into place because any of these government programs, it must be done properly or you will lose everything.”
Most of the assistance programs will be for uninsured tornado victims, Jackson said. The financial assistance a family may receive from the state depends on the severity of the property damage, said Jackson, who did not know the maximum a family can receive.
“The amount they get will be determined by if they had minor, major (damage) or if their home was destroyed,” Jackson said.
The total destroyed homes increased to 22, two more than previously reported by the state, Jackson said.
State officials know who is eligible for assistance programs because they have been collecting data from the American Red Cross about whose properties were insured or not insured, Jackson said.
Of the 22 destroyed homes, 11 were not insured and three were underinsured, Jackson said Tuesday. A dairy barn and about 11 chicken houses were also destroyed.
A total damage estimate has not been released by the state.
Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday at a news conference at the Arkansas Press Association in Little Rock he is “not optimistic” federal money will be available for tornado recovery in Washington County because the dollar amount of the damage probably won’t be large enough.
The state has not contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency as of late Wednesday afternoon, said Jacqueline Chandler, agency spokeswoman.
Edwards said the county will continue to pick up the large debris of untreated wood from the area. Sounds of large excavators crushing debris drowned out the steady sound of the loud whining noise dump trucks make when going in reverse on Tuesday and Wednesday.
County dump trucks are picking up debris piles left behind from the destroyed fire station and debris locations on Arkansas 59 between Tash Road and School House Road.
Edwards estimates the county’s cost to pick up the debris will be between $10,000 to $12,000. That cost will be split between the county’s emergency management, road and environmental affair budgets, she said.