U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent and Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $1.6 million in federal funding to prevent future flood damages in Poplar Bluff.

"This money will help reduce the dangers before the next flood arrives in Poplar Bluff," said Bond, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee that funds FEMA. "By cutting the risks in advance, we help save lives and property."

 

Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said, "This is an essential flood protection project that will protect residents from flooding, stimulate the local economy and create jobs in Poplar Bluff."

 

Discussing the grant announcement, Emerson (MO-08), who surveyed several tornado damaged sites last April noted, "I am very pleased that working together, FEMA, local stakeholders and our elected officials have been able to provide permanent relief to the families and businesses affected by flooding and other natural disasters. On more than one occasion, these residents have experienced great loss due to these disasters and I am hopeful that these funds will provide them with the tools they need to minimize that devastation while building even stronger communities for the future."

 

FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) will send $1,625,001 in federal dollars to Poplar Bluff for the voluntary purchase of 44 residential flood-prone structures within the community. HMGP provides 75 percent of the project's funds, the remaining 25 percent or $541,668 will be paid by Missouri State General Revenue Funds.

 

In May of this year after recovering from a tornado that swept through several counties in southeast Missouri, the same communities experienced severe flooding that caused extensive damage to homes and businesses. After the flood-prone structures within the community are purchased they will be demolished. The land will then be deed- restricted and no future development will be allowed on this property.