Walker County Added to Presidential Disaster Declaration

ATLANTA – The State of Georgia received a Federal Disaster Declaration amendment today for Walker County. Walker County is now eligible for disaster assistance and was included in the original application submitted by Governor Sonny Perdue requesting aid following severe flooding that began on September 18 and is continuing in certain isolated areas.

The total number of counties designated under this disaster declaration now stands at eight. The list now includes: Carroll, Chattooga, Cobb, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding, Stephens and Walker counties.

Residents that were affected by the storms should register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585. The toll-free numbers are staffed seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Help in all languages is available.

Individual assistance can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration also will be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance.

Joint federal- state-local preliminary damage inspections are underway in all remaining counties. Additional county declarations of eligibility for Individual Assistance could be announced in the next few days.

The federal declaration also means that affected counties can apply to be part of a Hazard Mitigation Grant program, which provides assistance to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards.

GEMA is the lead state agency for coordination of emergency and disaster response activities. For more information on GEMA, visit www.gema.ga.gov .

To learn how to prepare for disaster, visit www.ready.ga.gov .

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