FEMA flood-aid site opens; others sought

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened a coordination center and is scouting locations for disaster recovery centers in each of the 12 counties declared federal disaster areas as a result of the recent Arkansas River flooding.

The joint state and federal field office, in a building near Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, will be used to help state and FEMA officials coordinate their responses to the disaster, said Robin Smith, a spokesman for FEMA’s Region Six.

“That’s basically where the management of this di

saster is going to be occurring out of,” she said. “It’s not where the public will ever be able to go. We’re looking for places for the disaster recovery areas right now.”

Setting up disaster recovery centers takes time, Smith said.

“The state gives us locations we should look at,” she said. “Some of the concerns, which is why it takes us a while, is making sure it’s in a location that’s going to be convenient for as many of the population that were affected as possible while not putting it in a area where flooding is an issue.

“We won’t be putting it in harm’s way because that achieves nothing. But still it has to be close enough to the public that they can conveniently get to it.”

The disaster recovery centers also have to be equipped with the hardware, as well as connectivity, to handle computers and be accessible to people who are handicapped.

“Those are all of the concerns we start looking at,” Smith said. “Then, of course, there’s spending as few tax dollars as we can.”

The moves are just two of the multipronged responses FEMA undertakes in every disaster.

Teams already are going door-to-door in affected neighborhoods along the river documenting flood damage to help connect disaster survivors with potential assistance.

Inspections occur once survivors register with FEMA, according to the agency, which calls the inspections an essential part of the recovery process for people who need to make their primary residences livable again or have serious personal property loss.

The agency said homeowners and renters should make sure their contact information is up to date and they have access to telephones. They also will need to have photo identification and proof of ownership or leases.

Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams go door-to-door in affected areas to answer questions about the types of help available, help survivors apply for state and federal assistance, update applicants’ contact information and help with referrals to community partners.

The agency said people meeting with FEMA representatives in person should ask to see their official, laminated photo identification badges, which all federal employees carry. FEMA shirts, hats and jackets do not make them official, the agency said.

According to the agency, FEMA inspectors already have the homeowners’ registration numbers and won’t ask for them. FEMA said the registration numbers shouldn’t be shared with others.

The agency also said people won’t be charged for the inspections or required to turn over bank information.

Other FEMA officials are beginning to meet with city and county officials to assess the level of damage to roadways and other public infrastructure, Smith said.

That process also will take time. In fact, the full extent of the damage won’t be known for weeks, she said.

“We don’t know how much has occurred yet,” Smith said, speaking from Dumas on Tuesday morning. “The floods down here where I am haven’t been gone that long.

“Roads, you can think it’s fine and people begin driving on it and as the soil has softened, you’ll see roads sink in a month or so. Those kind of things.”

State, county and local governments will have to repair the damage with their own money and then seek reimbursement from FEMA, she said.

The Little Rock field office is being leased to FEMA by Clinton National through the U.S. General Services Administration.

Bryan Malinowski, the airport’s interim executive director, said the lease is for three months at $61,162.78 per month for the 42,000-squarefoot building on 13 acres. The lease has a provision that allows FEMA to lease it on a month-to-month basis for up to a year.

Smith said she couldn’t say how many FEMA employees will be on the ground in Arkansas but it would fluctuate. Malinowski said the agency was seeking a building in which it could base up to 250 employees.

“They are occupying it as we speak,” Malinowski told members of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission on Tuesday.

The flooding in Arkansas began the week of May 20 when the river began to rise in Fort Smith and other cities in western Arkansas. It was caused by a torrent of storms in Oklahoma, where flood-reduction lakes filled to the point where they could no longer hold water without endangering dams.

Consequently, a massive amount of water flowed from the reservoirs into the Arkansas River.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency on May 24. He activated two Arkansas National Guard water-rescue teams and directed them to western Arkansas.

The water eventually flooded areas in and around several cities and towns downstream.

On June 8, President Donald Trump approved Hutchinson’s request to declare a major disaster in Arkansas. That approval came fewer than 24 hours after the governor made the request.

The water has begun receding but remains high in most areas.

Twelve counties have been approved to receive federal aid because of extensive damage. They are Arkansas, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Jefferson, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell.