Darlington continues FEMA damage assessments
From left, Darlington Fire Chief Pat Cavanaugh, Jannie Lathan of Lathan Consulting LLC, and Darlington city manager Howard Garland went over local damage assessment figures with FEMA representatives last week.
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
City of Darlington officials met with representatives from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) last week to compile damage assessment data and attempt to recover the city’s expenses related to Hurricane Matthew cleanup.
“We are trying to get some money back for all the things the city did for storm mitigation. We turn in our costs for overtime hours, protective measures, and equipment use so FEMA can reimburse us,” explained Darlington Fire Department Chief Pat Cavanaugh.
Cavanaugh said FEMA’s Public Assistance Disaster Mitigation program will reimburse the city’s expenses for such things as heavy equipment rentals (like backhoes used to shift large storm debris and fallen trees), chainsaw purchases, and damages to city-owned buildings.
As of last week, Cavanaugh said the City of Darlington has amassed in $375,000 in Hurricane Matthew mitigation costs, including $14,000 in overtime hours, $37,000 in building damages, and $190,000 in equipment rentals and purchases. Debris removal costs were initially estimated at $132,000, but Cavanaugh said that final figure should be lower due to the state taking away more storm debris than predicted.
“We’ll probably have $75,000 to $80,000, possibly up to about $100,000 in debris removal by the time we get done with all the small stuff,” Cavanaugh said.
When all the damages and costs are tallied and the forms are submitted, a waiting game will begin. With a multitude of claims to process, FEMA gets things done as fast as they can, but Cavanaugh notes that the City of Darlington is still receiving occasional reimbursement checks from damages suffered in the October 2015 floods.
If FEMA approves the damage claims, the City of Darlington will receive 75 percent of the submitted costs and cover the remaining 25 percent through a local match.
Jannie Lathan of Lathan Consulting LLC has trained as a FEMA damage assessment consultant, and is helping the City of Darlington prepare all the necessary project worksheets to ensure maximum reimbursement under both the Public Assistance and Individual Assistance programs.
“The project worksheets are how we begin to identify and quantify, based on FEMA’s requirements, the amount of assistance that we will get from FEMA,” Lathan said.
Working with city officials, Lathan began residential property damage assessments the first Monday (October 10) after the storm. Over the course of three days, 69 homes were designated as storm damaged – most suffered tree falls due to high winds – and those homes were added to the county’s damage total to help meet FEMA’s assistance qualification threshold.
Darlington County is qualified for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program, and persons with storm damage can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or through a toll-free call to 800-621-3362. Qualified county residents can apply for up to $33,000 to help with temporary housing, home repair or replacement, vehicle repair or replacement, medical expenses, and other storm-related financial burdens. Low-interest loans to help repair storm damage are available for individuals and businesses through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Lathan said city businesses were also surveyed for storm damage, and fortunately very few local businesses suffered storm-related damages. She advised any Darlington County resident or business owner who suffered damages from Hurricane Matthew to register with FEMA and stick with the application process, even if they receive a rejection letter. Lathan noted that it’s often worth the effort to appeal that initial rejection and exhaust your options for FEMA aid before applying for an SBA loan that – while helpful – must be paid back.