NASHVILLE, Ill. — More federal relief headed to Illinois to help residents recover after heavy rainfall caused the Nashville City Reservoir Dam to fail and spill into the streets.
Washington County, like six other counties in Illinois, suffered terrible damage after a series of storms from July 13-16.
The flooding forced massive evacuations. Thousands had to leave their homes and businesses.
That's why FEMA opened a disaster recovery center on Monday at the Kaskaskia College Extension Center in Nashville, which allowed flood victims to meet specialists face-to-face.
Two FEMA Centers opened up last week in St. Clair County.
The Illinois counties that FEMA crews are canvassing in connection to July storm damage are St. Clair, Washington, Fulton, Henry, Winnebago, Cook, and Will. President Joe Biden signed the major disaster declaration on September 20, allowing people with property damage to recover.
Once the declaration was signed, FEMA teams hit the ground running. Now, those impacted residents can get help in person.
"We're seeing people in droves applying for assistance. We have now surpassed $30 million into the hands of survivors. We have 10s of 1000s of applications registered, and we're not done yet," Leyla Gulen, a public information officer for FEMA, said. "We don't want to leave a single survivor behind. We don't want to leave a single dollar on the table. We want to make sure that people get the help that they need,"
In recent weeks, some have criticized FEMA for not responding to disasters quickly enough. However, FEMA refutes that and says the agency is working around the clock to help victims, including in Washington County.
"This country has been pummeled like never before. We have had so many weather events and disasters happen. Our hearts go out to every survivor, whether in Illinois or now in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast. It truly takes all departments and to come together, working hand in glove with one another, to ensure that the survivors of Illinois are indeed helped," said Gulen.
Gulen is also warning residents about the increasing number of scams.
"We have seen fraud can be rampant. In this case, you have people claiming to file your application for you to speed up the process for a fee. We don't ever charge a survivor to apply. There is nobody who can quicken the process to get the application filed. That is entirely false," she said.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is also set up at the recovery centers, offering low-interest loans for both businesses and individuals.
"For the first 12 months, they do not have a payment. They do not have any interest incurred on either program. We assist the insured, the non-insured and the underinsured. We're here to provide additional support," said Timothy Watson, a Public Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
FEMA will be in the area for the next few weeks. The recovery center in Nashville will be open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Residents are urged to apply before the November 19 deadline.
Additional recovery centers will be opening in other impacted counties soon.