There has been a lot of discussion on the recent declaration of disaster by Governor Wolf. We would like to clarify what exactly this means to the victims of the flood.
Governor Wolf’s proclamation of disaster emergency allows the state to bypass normal procurement procedures and policies in order to more quickly respond with resources. The proclamation is one of many steps necessary in order to request a federal disaster declaration.
Multiple counties in central and eastern Pennsylvania have been impacted by recent flooding and are conducting damage assessments to determine if they meet their threshold for FEMA’s Public Assistance program. This could provide federal funding for state, county and local governments to repair or replace public infrastructure.
In addition to county thresholds, the commonwealth must meet a state threshold of $18.5 million in damages and costs in order to request a federal disaster declaration. Meeting the threshold and making a request are not a guarantee of federal funding.
Emergency Management Services in the impacted counties are still in the early stages of collecting damage information. They will do due diligence in ensuring that they conduct thorough and accurate damage assessments.
The public is asked to report their damages to their respective county agency, as hearing the stories of those impacted helps in the presentation to FEMA a more complete picture of the impact of the flooding.
If you have not already done so, please call Bradford County Emergency Management Office at 570-265-5022 to report your damage. In Sullivan County, call 570-946-5010; in Susquehanna County, call 570-278-5915; and in Wyoming County, call 570-836-3191.
At this time, there is no state-funded disaster program to provide direct financial assistance to survivors. It’s too early to tell if any federal funding will be made available to individuals; we will work closely with our state and federal partners to determine the possibility of low interest loans to help in the recovery process.