https://windom-mn.com/july-26-2024-update-actualizacion-del-26-de-julio-de-2024/
City of Windom Release- EDA Director Tiffany Lamb
July 26, 2024
City of Windom and Cottonwood County officials continue to advocate for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance to be available to our community. We have not yet received a response but anticipate communication about approval or denial could come within days. If we do receive an approval for this assistance, we anticipate FEMA will mobilize very quickly to establish a Disaster Recovery Center in Windom to assist the community. While this assistance is not yet guaranteed to be available, we recommend community members prepare in case we do receive approval.
- If you do not yet have your flood-related damage documentation prepared, please gather receipts for any repair, replacement, and mold mitigation from flood-related damages. Assemble your pictures of damages. Having this documentation prepared and easily accessible will help with the assistance application process.
- If you have flood insurance, you will need to file a claim with your insurance provider and submit the insurance settlement or denial letter to FEMA. By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits for losses covered by your insurance. If you have not yet filed a claim, please do so as soon as possible. If you have filed a claim, please ensure you have your settlement or denial letter ready with any receipts and pictures.
FEMA assistance is designed to jumpstart recovery efforts and ensure your home is livable. The assistance you receive is not likely to cover the full costs of returning your home or property to the condition it may have been in prior to the disaster. It does cover essential mechanical repair or replacement such as furnaces or water heaters. FEMA assistance comes in the form of a grant that does not need to be repaid. The average grant is $3,000 and the maximum grant is currently $42,500. For qualifying damages exceeding the maximum, there would be disaster recovery loans potentially available through the Small Business Administration (SBA). For properties within the floodplain, FEMA may ask that applicants purchase flood insurance.
If available, FEMA assistance is tax-free and does not affect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or other Federal welfare and entitlement programs. To qualify for assistance from FEMA, you or a member of your household must be a U.S. citizen, non-U.S. citizen national or qualified non-citizen.
While we are still awaiting a response (which could still be an approval or a denial), gathering this documentation is the best way for community members to prepare for potential assistance. Local officials also ask for patience from the community at this time as we are also learning this rarely-available Federal program. The last known time Individual Assistance was available to Cottonwood County due to severe storms and flooding was 1993 (and before that 1969!). If assistance is ultimately approved, this speaks to the severity of damage!
In the meantime, those with immediate needs are encouraged to dial 211 for the United Way, which provides free and confidential health and human services information. For flood-related mental health concerns, there is a national Disaster Distress Hotline (operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA) available by calling or texting 1-800-985-5990.
With optimism,
Tiffany Lamb
Economic Development Director