Focus turns to relief process

With the water departed from Jay County’s most recent bout of flooding, the focus has begun to turn to disaster relief.
David Kane, executive director of Indiana Department of Homeland Security, met with local officials Thursday to discuss the process that could lead to flood damage reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Portland experienced its third, and most severe, flooding in less than a month Tuesday.
“What we have to do is ensure that we have the ability to meet those thresholds so that we qualify for FEMA to come in and validate the declarations that we’ve made at the state level,” said Kane. “That’s why we’re asking residents and property owners to be sure and document everything relative to their losses and to be able to demonstrate those losses …”
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” said Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman. "There are a lot of steps we've got to go through before we can say if we have a disaster, if we are going to be eligible for anything.”
Geesaman has already signed a document declaring the flooding a state of emergency, and Faron Parr, as president of Jay County Commissioners, plans to do so at the group’s Monday meeting.
FEMA funding is broken into several groups, with the two most important for Jay County being public — assistance for publicly-owned property such as city hall, streets, sewers, roads and parks — and individual — assistance for private property owners. It covers only uninsured losses.
The key part of the qualifying process is assessing and reporting damage.
Local officials and Kane asked that residents and business owners document their losses and expenses as thoroughly as possible with written statements, photos, video and receipts. Losses eligible to be reimbursed include not only the cost to clean up and/or replace damaged property, but also the time used to complete such projects.
 The form used to report damage can be found by clicking “Report Damage from Severe Weather, Flooding – June 7 and continuing” under “Featured Topics” at http://www.in.gov/dhs/. It will also be made available on the Jay County emergency management website.
Those who are unable to access the form, or who would like assistance to make sure it is filled out correctly, can visit the Jay County emergency management office at Jay County Security Center, 224, W. Water St., Portland, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Local emergency management employees and Red Cross volunteers also plan to visit local business and the hardest-hit residential areas to perform initial damage assessments. Those who are not visited can call the local emergency management office at (260) 726-6909 to be included.
“Obviously we don’t want people waiting on us to get there before they start the recover process,” said Jay County emergency management director Ralph Frazee. “But if you’re going to put things in a dumpster, take pictures so that we know you’re going to get proof …”
“It’s kind of like writing a grant,” added Parr. “You’ve got to document everything you’re doing. … We could be really close to qualifying state-wide for some funding …”
The state has a 30-day window from the time of the incident in order to present its damage assessment to FEMA. Gov. Mike Pence has petitioned to have that period extended to 60 days, but the extension has not yet been granted.
The time period for the incident has also not yet been determined. It could be limited to just the most recent flooding or include all problems since mid-June, which included flooding in Jay County June 17 and 27.
In order for Jay County to qualify for federal assistance, both the county and the state must meet certain thresholds.
For public assistance, the state must have $1.39 in damage per capita, or a total of about $9.2 million. The county must have $3.50 in damage per capita, or about $75,000.
Individual assistance is based on the number of homes affected, with a requirement of at least 500 homes listed as a total loss and at least 40 percent of those losses being uninsured.
Indiana did not meet the requirements for aid from FEMA following severe flooding Feb. 28, 2011, in Portland that was similar to this week’s incident. At one point, damage from that flood, which included extensive problems at Jay Community Center, was estimated at $4 million.
The county received about $500,000, most of which came in the form of low-interest small business administration loans, to help with the recovery effort, Frazee said. A local fund was established starting with $25,000 from The Portland Foundation, which also gave nearly $40,000 to local non-profit organizations.
Kane noted that the flooding four years ago was more isolated, while this year much of the state has experienced damage.
Allen, Adams and Huntington counties has severe flooding in June, and this month’s rainfall has led to issues in and around Indianapolis and southeast Indiana in addition to Jay County. That could help the state reach the threshold for FEMA assistance.
“It does appear that this storm is pretty widespread,” he said. “There’s pretty significant damage. …
“The state has been affected, pretty much completely, by these storms.”
Kane was reluctant to give a firm timeline on how long it could take to get a potential disaster declaration through FEMA and to receive reimbursement in the form of grants following such a declaration. A review of FEMA information shows the amount of time varies based on severity of each situation, with some declared disasters within days while others take months before a decision is made.
The last Indiana disaster that was ruled eligible for FEMA assistance was the Jan. 5 through 9, 2014, snowstorm. The declaration in that situation came on April 22, 2014.
In 2011, the announcement that Indiana had not reached the threshold for its Feb. 28 flooding came on March 17.
If the state and county qualify for funding, public losses are reimbursed at a rate of 75 percent. Individual property owners are eligible for full reimbursement with a cap of about $31,000.
While receiving federal relief is a more drawn-out process, the Red Cross is available to provide immediate help to those impacted by the flooding.
The organization has set up a response center that opened at 9 a.m. today at Jay County Courthouse. It will remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays until it is no longer needed.
The Red Cross can provide help in the form of food vouchers, short-term housing and clean-up kits. The kits will include a mop bucket, rubber gloves, scrub brushes, brooms, bleach and other cleaning supplies.
A shelter at Jay County High School that was open from Tuesday afternoon through noon Thursday was used by one family of four, Frazee said.
‘I know you want immediate help. That is what the Red Cross and Salvation Army is here for,” said Geesaman. “(FEMA relief) is a long, several-step process.”