Nearly $260 Million in Federal Assistance Already Approved for July Floods; Largest Amount of Disaster Assistance in State History
SPRINGFIELD - October 14, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today urged people affected by the July floods to apply for federal disaster assistance to help them recover from the storms. The deadline for registration was extended this week to Nov. 17 after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Governor Quinn's extension request.
"With more than 1,000 applications for assistance still coming in each day, this extension will help ensure that everyone who was affected by the July floods has a chance to apply for aid," said Governor Quinn. "This disaster has impacted more people than any other in our state's history and already a historic level of federal assistance has been approved for people who were affected."
Nearly $260 million in federal assistance has already been approved to help flood victims recover, and that figure continues to increase as more applications are approved. That amount is greater than federal assistance for any other disaster in Illinois history. According to FEMA, this is also the biggest federal disaster in the history of FEMA's Region V, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
On Oct. 6, Governor Quinn asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to extend the registration period to Nov. 17. This 30-day extension of the original Oct. 18 deadline will ensure that everyone needing help has an opportunity to apply for the aid. Since Aug. 19, when FEMA approved Governor Quinn's request for federal assistance for people and businesses affected by the floods, more than 123,000 applications have been received and nearly $260 million in assistance has been approved.
"In most cases, the number of applications dwindles considerably as the deadline nears," said Joe Klinger, Interim Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. "But with so many people applying each day, we know that the need for assistance is still great. This extension will enable more people to get the help they need."
Counties included in the federal declaration for assistance to people and businesses include Cook, Carroll, DuPage, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago.
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