In the News

U.S. declares major disaster over Jonesboro-area storms

Arkansas Democrat Gazette
05/10/2020

President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster related to severe storms that ripped through Jonesboro and Craighead County on March 28, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Saturday in a news release.

Straight-line winds pummeled the county and a tornado ripped through part of a business district in Jonesboro, causing extensive damage.

The declaration also paves the way for federal funding to be made available to the state, some local governments and certain nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis, the release said.

The tornado that ripped through Craighead County caused an estimated $7.9 million in damage to public buildings and infrastructure, according to Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Melody Daniel. An estimated$3.6 million will be made available to assist people who lost their homes in the storm, Daniel said.

On April 24, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed the letter requesting the federal disaster declaration.

Also, Arkansas' congressional delegation sent a letter that day to the president in support of Hutchinson's request, according to a news release.

U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, and Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman, mentioned in their letter that the state has had 16 major disaster declarations since 2011, and the state is still recovering from 12 of them, which have occurred since January 2018.

"Simply put, we believe the severe magnitude of these weather events warrant supplementary Federal assistance," the letter said. It added that the state is still dealing with financial hardships from those extreme weather events, and now from the coronavirus, leaving businesses and agriculture enterprises reeling.

In a news release issued Saturday from Boozman's office the state's lawmakers said "we are pleased with this quick response from the administration which will provide financial assistance to speed up recovery efforts" in the disaster-hit areas.

"President Trump's swift action to approve the state's request for a disaster declaration is appreciated," it said.

The declaration announced Saturday comes just a few days after FEMA denied a request by Benton County on April 30 regarding two Oct. 21 tornadoes that caused an estimated $6.5 million in damage. An estimated $5.5 million of that damage was for equipment and power lines owned by the Siloam Springs Electric Department and the Carroll Electric Cooperative.

If granted, FEMA would have covered 75% of the cleanup and report costs. Instead, the state emergency management department will cover 35% of those costs up to $500,000 per entity, according to reports.