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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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December
2006
Volume
11 - Number 3 |
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By Mike Stempki On October 27, 2006 the Federal Emergency Management Agency signed a formal agreement with the sovereign Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona in regards to federal assistance through FEMA in instances of disasters or emergencies. Joe Shirley the president of the Navajo Nation signed the agreement along with Lee Rosenberg, the federal coordinating officer who overseas the disaster recovery in Arizona, and Tony Russell, who is the coordinating officer for New Mexico. Federal assistance will be handled by FEMA’s Arizona office for the Navajo Nation in both Arizona and New Mexico. The rational behind this is to allow for the Navajo nation to have a single point of contact with respect to federal emergency assistance. The federal disaster declarations include Navajo Nation lands within Navajo County in Arizona and in New Mexico within Cibola, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Socorro counties. The agreement will allow the federal government to begin allocating funds to facilitate road repair and other public facilities damaged by flooding. According to the terms of the presidential disaster declaration, reimbursement for the Arizona is limited to damage occurring between July 25 and in New Mexico reimbursement is available for damage between July 26 and Sept. 18. Some of what FEMA reimbursement covers are debris removal, emergency protective measures and the repair or replacement of damaged public facilities. The staff of the Navajo Nation will work with FEMA to examine eligible disaster recovery initiatives. According to FEMA, they cover at least 75 percent of an eligible project’s cost and the Navajo Nations will provide the remaining 25 percent. President Bush signed a disaster declaration for New Mexico on August 30, and on September 7. According to a FEMA, on November 10, 2006 two more counties in Navajo Nation became eligible for federal disaster reimbursement. The Apache and Coconino Counties suffered an estimated 375,000 dollars in damage during the summer storm. This brings the total to eight counties that qualify for federal assistance. The majority of the damage was to roads and bridges and lesser amounts for public buildings, equipment and utilities. This brings the total to approximately 11.7 million for Arizona. Assistance is now being given to Pinal and Pima counties, the Navajo Nation within Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties, the Hopi Tribe within Navajo county, the San Carlos Apache tribe within Gila, Graham and Pinal Counties, the Gila River Indian Community within Pinal county and the Tohono-O’odham Nation within Pima and Pinal counties References http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=31158 http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=31489 |