FEMA tileRhea County, Tenn., has been approved for addition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster declaration from the severe winter storm of Feb. 15-22.
The county joins Bledsoe, Coffee, Cumberland, Grundy, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Roane and Warren counties in Southeast Tennessee on the list approved for federal assistance, according to a FEMA news release. Rhea County was added after new damage assessments requested by the state.
Eligible government entities and certain private nonprofit organizations in the declared counties can apply for reimbursement of specific expenses related to disaster response and recovery under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, which provides a 75 percent funding reimbursement for costs related to debris removal, emergency protective measures and rebuilding and repairing roads, bridges, water control facilities, buildings, utilities and recreational facilities, the release states.