HOWARD COUNTY, Ind.-- Howard County and Kokomo officials plan to seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for damage caused by recent tornadoes, according to Howard County Emergency Management Director Janice Hart.
Hart told Call 6 Investigates she plans to meet with Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight and other officials to compile damage estimates.
If the State of Indiana decides to apply for FEMA assistance, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security would likely submit the application on behalf of Howard County and other counties impacted by tornadoes and flooding.
“We are still getting more reports on damage,” said John Erickson, IDHS spokesperson. “We want to work quickly, but we want to do a thorough job. Every application we’ve put in to FEMA in the past has included more than one county.”
If an application is submitted to FEMA, the federal government would have to do its own assessment of damage in Indiana.
“We’re looking at whether the event has overwhelmed the state to the point that they can’t recover without the assistance of the federal government,” said FEMA spokesperson Mark Peterson.
The majority of the tornado damage in Kokomo and Howard County was to houses, apartments, parks, and businesses.
The state of Indiana would likely apply for what’s called FEMA “Individual Assistance,” which helps homeowners and renters rebuild as opposed to “Public Assistance,” which helps rebuild public infrastructure.
Erickson said the last time Indiana was successful in receiving that type of FEMA help was in 2012 when deadly tornadoes hit southern Indiana.
“FEMA provided $1,727,998 in Individual Assistance to homeowners and renters as a result of the severe storms that occurred February 29 through March 3, 2012,” said Peterson.
Howard County EMA director Janice Hart said as a result of the tornadoes, a 224-unit apartment complex was condemned.
“In another apartment complex, 15 units were damaged with only one renter having renters’ insurance,” said Hart.
FEMA and IDHS were at odds with the City of Kokomo in 2015 over the portions of the Kokomo Municipal Stadium being out of compliance with federal funding guidelines.
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In February 2015, FEMA responded by suspending all of Indiana’s hazard mitigation grant program, which at the time impacted $6.1 million in projects.
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The Indiana Department of Homeland Security appealed FEMA’s decision and won.
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In March 2015, FEMA reinstated all hazard mitigation grant awards to Indiana.
However, the City of Kokomo is still not eligible for hazard mitigation funds city wide, according to Peterson.
Mitigation funds are separate from FEMA Individual Assistance and Public Assistance monies that could be issued following a tornado.
The stadium is now in compliance, but the City of Kokomo has not yet released how much the changes cost taxpayers.
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The baseball stadium did not suffer any damage during recent storms, according to Kokomo deputy mayor David Tharp.
FEMA and IDHS initially told the City of Kokomo to stop construction on the stadium, but the city filed a lawsuit in January 2015 to keep building on the land.
The lawsuit was resolved in September 2015, records show, after the city brought the stadium into compliance with federal guidelines.
