Sunday, March 02, 1997 10:07:12 AM
Excerpted from: ESR1-061
At Least 24 Reported Dead in Weekend Storms
ARKADELPHIA, ARKANSAS (ENN) - At least 24 people have been
reported killed by severe storms and tornadoes that swept across
the midsection of the United States on Saturday. The hardest hit
state appears to be
Arkansas, where a number of tornadoes and other violent storms
killed at least 23 people and injured about 200.
The governor of the State of Arkansas ordered out the National
Guard to aid with security and cleanup. By late Saturday,
National Guard troops were patrolling the town of Arkadelphia,
where a 3-block downtown area was destroyed.
James Lee Witt, the director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, was expected to be in Arkansas on Sunday to inspect the
damage.
Also heavily hit by the storms were the capital Little Rock and
Saline county. The storms began at about 1430 CST and lasted
about five hours.
One person was killed and four others were injured when a tornado
struck Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday morning. It was reported
that about 49 homes were destroyed in a four-county area of the
state.
(C) EmergencyNet News Service, 1997. Redistribution without
permission of ENN is prohibited by law.
Federal Emergency Management Updates/Reports on Tornados/Flooding
FEMA Declares Arkansas Counties As Disaster Areas
WASHINGTON March 2,1997 --- Nine counties in tornado-ravaged
Arkansas have
been designated eligible for federal assistance by the head of
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) following President Clinton's major
disaster declaration
issued for the state this evening.
FEMA Director James Lee Witt said the President ordered the aid
shortly after receiving
the state's expedited request for federal disaster relief earlier
today. The declaration covers
damage from severe storms and tornadoes and flooding that struck
the state yesterday
(March 1) and are still continuing.
"The President is very concerned about the losses and
suffering caused by these disastrous
storms", said Witt, who is being sent by the President to
tour the damaged area tomorrow
(Mon., Mar. 3) . "His action today helps ensure that
assistance will be provided to all those
in need as fast and efficiently as possible."
Immediately after the declaration, Witt designated the counties
of Clark, Cross, Greene,
Hempstead, Jackson, Lonoke, Nevada, Pulaski, and Saline eligible
for federal
funding to supplement the recovery needs of affected residents
and business owners. He
said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas and more
counties may be
designated for aid based on the assessments.
The supplemental assistance, to be coordinated by FEMA, can
include grants to help pay
for temporary housing needs, minor home repairs and other serious
disaster-related
expenses. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business
Administration also will be
available for residential and business property losses not fully
covered by insurance.
Under the declaration, federal funds also will be provided for
affected local governments in
the same nine counties to pay 75 percent of the eligible cost for
debris removal and
emergency protective measures, and for approved projects that
mitigate future disaster
risks. Other assistance to local and state government agencies
may be authorized after
further damage assesments are completed.
Jim McClanahan of FEMA's regional office in Denton, Texas was
named by Witt to
coordinate the federal relief effort. McClanahan said that
residents and business owners
who sustained losses in the designated counties may begin the
application process starting
tomorrow, Monday, March 3 by calling 1-800-462-9029, or
1-800-462-7585 (TDD) for
the hearing and speech-impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers
will operate from 8 a.m
to 6 p.m. (EST) seven days a week until further notice.
Updated: March 2, 1997 - Courtesy of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency
FEMA DISASTER UPDATE-03/03/97
WASHINGTON March 3, 1997 -- Following are select highlights of
current federal
response activities and status reports in the aftermath of severe
weather in the South and
Midwest.
Background - Severe weather, including heavy rains
and tornadoes, swept through more
than a dozen states on March 2 and 3, sending rivers over their
banks and leaving at least
one town in Arkansas flattened by a tornado. In some areas,
rivers are still rising. The
combined death toll from the severe weather tops 30.
Arkansas:
Up to 20 tornadoes hit the state Saturday, cutting a path 250
miles long, and leaving
24 dead and hundreds injured with one person missing, according
to state officials.
State officials also report that 147 homes were destroyed and 408
damaged.
President Clinton issued a major disaster declaration for nine
counties on March 2
for both individual and hazard mitigation assistance. Debris
removal and emergency
protective measures have also been authorized for federal
reimbursement.
State officials report power outages and damaged or leaking gas
lines in four
counties. Shelters are open in some areas, and a curfew remains
in effect in
Arkadelphia, which was severely damaged.
Director James Lee Witt visited the state on March 3; President
Clinton is scheduled
to visit the state on March 4. Jim McClanahan of FEMA's Denton,
TX, Regional
Office, has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer in the
state. By mid-day on
March 3, 167 disaster applications had been filed. FEMA
inspectors were already in
the field and community relations teams were going door-to-door
distributing
information. An initial team of 120 FEMA workers is already
deployed and working
in the state.
West Virginia:
Fourteen counties have been affected by flooding with one
confirmed fatality. The
American Red Cross is reporting it has 13 shelters operating.
Four preliminary disaster assessment teams from FEMA will arrive
in the state
tomorrow and will begin assessments as soon as the waters recede.
Ohio:
State officials confirm six deaths in the flooding that affected
14 counties. The most
significant damage is reported in Adams, Lawrence and Scioto
counties. The
Governor has declared states of emergency in all 14.
State officials report 68 single-family homes were destroyed and
379 suffered major
damage; 64 mobile homes were destroyed with an additional 81
suffering major
damage.
The state expects the Ohio River will crest at 63 feet on March
5. Extensive flooding
is expected in Portsmouth, Ripley and in Clermont County, after
rivers crest.
The American Red Cross is operating nine shelters and four mobile
feeding stations.
FEMA Preliminary Disaster Assessment inspectors are meeting in
the state March 4
with assessments expected to be underway on March 5.
The water treatment facility in Adams County is expected to be
out of operation for
five days. State transportation officials report 75 roads closed
and two bridges out.
Kentucky:
Approximately 52 counties are affected by severe rains and
flooding. Key FEMA
staff are being deployed to Frankfurt, KY, today; a state liaison
official is already in
place at the State Emergency Operations Center.
State officials report seven casualties. Preliminary reports
indicate thousands of
people are displaced and an unknown but large number of homes
damaged.
Other states:
Heavy rains and/or tornadoes also affected Indiana, Mississippi,
Texas, Illinois,
Indiana, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and Alabama.
In Texas, two individuals are confirmed dead as a result of
tornadoes reported in
seven counties; seven are injured, according to state sources. In
Tennessee, 25
bridges and 200 miles of road have been damaged by rain and storm
damage; five
shelters are open for displaced residents. Mississippi officials
report one death. The
American Red Cross in the state reports more than 40 homes are
affected.
Please Note: Although the information in this Disaster Update was
deemed accurate at the
time of release it must be stressed that information was gathered
from many sources
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of Emergency
Information &
Media Affairs --- Washington, D.C. - Updated March 3, 1997
DONATIONS AND VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT
FOR DISASTERS IN
SEVERAL STATES
"We will need cash donations and volunteers to help the many
people whose lives have
been devastated by the March Lion storms in several states,"
said Virginia Miller,
emergency response manager for the United Methodist Committee on
Relief (UMCOR).
She said that volunteers are needed to help families cleanup,
including mucking out flooded
basements, and later in the repairing and rebuilding of damaged
homes. Volunteers are
urged to call 800-918-3100.
Miller said that cash donations are urgently needed to help
families who fail to qualify for
sufficient federal disaster relief funds to return their lives to
normal. "Those most often falling
through the safety-net are the elderly, handicapped, or
single-parent families with several
children."
Cash donations may be made by calling 800-554-8583 or by mailing
a check to UMCOR,
475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. She said that
100 percent of each
donation goes to help people in the area designaed by the donor,
and that no part of a
donation is used for administrative expenses.
ARKANSAS:
In Arkansas today, Bishop Janice Huie of Little Rock, is touring
the tornado ravaged
areas. She is accompanied by Claudette Ehrhardt of Stamps,
disaster coordinator
for the Little Rock United Methodist Annual Conference.
The immediate concern in Arkansas is to provide pastoral care for
the families of the
two dozen people killed and the hundreds injured by the
tornadoes.
WEST VIRGINIA:
Rev. Clark Peloubet of Bramwell, WV, disaster coordinator for
West Virginia's
United Methodists, reports that much of the state is is isolated
by flooding, but that
efforts are underway to start cleanup efforts as soon as the
water recedes.
Cleanup supplies and volunteers are being gathered at the Milton
United Methodist
Church in Milton, where Rev. Richard DeQuasie is pastor. The
church may be
called at 304-743-6461. Ed Hood, district disaster coordinator,
is also operating
out of the Milton church, and he may be reached at 304-525-6265.
Another center for cleanup supplies and volunteers is the
Aldersgate United
Methodist Church in Sissonville, where Rev. Teresa Deane is
pastor. The church
phone number is 304-984-1164.
Updated March 3, 1997 - Courtesy of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency