The six-county Southeast Missouri area saw at least $21 million in flood damages to individual properties and public infrastructure, according to a request submitted Wednesday by Gov. Eric Greitens for a federal disaster declaration.
It is part of more than $86 million in public and private assistance needs identified across 45 counties for what has been described as once in a 1,000-year flooding for some areas.
More than half of the local damage costs occurred in one county, Carter, where officials are hopeful the president will sign a declaration in the next two weeks. Flooding April 29-May 1 broke century-old records, with the Current River climbing about 30 feet in little more than a day.
"The application doesn't really mean anything, but if the president signs the declaration, it opens up money for reimbursement for debris removal and for residents for housing," said Carter County Presiding Commissioner Donald Black. "It just opens the doors for us to heal faster. It's a big step."
Local counties have said response and recovery efforts are requiring money they cannot afford and a federal disaster declaration is crucial.
Butler County has already spent almost its entire gravel budget for the year, one of many costs the county has incurred, said presiding commissioner Vince Lampe. The $500,000 that should have helped maintain roads through December has gone to making repairs county-wide and continued maintenance of areas like County Road 514 at Wappapello, Lampe said. County Road 514 is being used as a detour around a damaged section of Highway T and has seen greatly increased volumes of traffic.
Butler County highway crews are grading the road in the overnight hours because of the heavy traffic during the day, Lampe said.
This adds manpower and overtime expenses outside of material costs, he said.
Lampe is waiting for a response from the federal government before making any judgments on how long this process is taking.
Other residents are frustrated that a federal declaration has not been issued more quickly.
Former Carter County commissioner Gene Oakley believes response to previous disasters was much faster.
"I'm just sorely distressed we don't have a disaster declaration," Oakley said. "You drive down these streets and see these poor people, they've lost everything. It's just terrible."
A quick response is needed to get the community back on its feet for the tourism season, said Oakley. Many residents and businesses rely on the tourism dollars spent between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to Oakley.
Greitens first issued a state of emergency April 29.
In 2011, flooding that occurred April 26 was followed by a disaster declaration request May 5. The declaration was issued May 9. Federal assistance issued to residents and communities was well over $200 million for that disaster.
The state has compiled estimates of the individual and public assistance that will be needed by the affected counties, including six local counties.
Individual assistance:
Butler: $367,827.83
Carter: $3,810,793.04
Dunklin: $84,429.64
Reynolds: $111,833.50
Ripley: $1,676,167.26
Wayne: $59,852.15
City, county
assistance:
Butler: $1,339,974
Carter: $8,096,046
Dunklin: $723,055
Reynolds: $783,100
Ripley: $2,717,024
Wayne: $1,186,102