Southern Illinois victims of the 2011 flood will soon have a chance to move to higher ground.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, approved a $9 million buyout grant this week for residents of flood-ravaged Olive Branch and other Alexander County communities. The state will provide an additional $3 million.
Beth Ellison is a staff researcher at Southern Illinois University who has helped the Alexander County flood victims with the grant. She says there are 167 eligible homes and businesses that were damaged in the 2011 flood.
“That does not mean that all of these folks with take the money that they’re offered for their property,” Ellison said. “Some people may opt to stay where they are. Especially, it’s been almost two years, so some of them have rebuilt their livelihoods.”
The buyout is voluntary. Alexander County will own the land and demolish any structures.
Ellison says no taxable structure can be built on that property, but a planning team is working on ways to make that land beneficial to the community.
“Some ideas are community gardens, parks. Some of the land can be given to a neighbor who can use it to extend their back yard. So there’s a lot of different options that are on the table, but it has to be left completely open,” Ellison said.
Ellison says purchases and demolition could begin in about two months.
