Following the June 8 flash flood, the City of Cape Girardeau has requested federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for citywide repairs.
FEMA is responsible for coordinating with the federal government to ensure that “America is equipped to prepare for and respond to disasters.”
Assistant emergency management director Harrison Meyer said multiple infrastructures in Cape was damaged during the flood, including roads, the baseball field in Capaha Park, the storage area underneath the arena building, and the Police Station, which sustained the most damage.
“So on our end our whole job is to present to them [FEMA] what we have, what we don't have, what's been damaged, and on their end they are taking numerous notes, writing reports to which they will come up with a final proposition to the federal government, saying this is what's damaged, this is why it's important we replace it, and then after they compile that report together,” Meyer said.
Meyer said it is unclear how much they may receive from FEMA. However, they did present $3 million in repair estimates for the damage to the police station.
“The police station suffered the most noticeable damage. Not only their building, but some of their resources, police vehicles and equipment that they use on a day-to-day basis were heavily damaged from the flash flooding, and so a lot of our time was spent walking through the police station, looking at footage from the flood,” Meyer said. “Off the top of my head, numerous police vehicles were heavily damaged to the point where they are not operational, so that was a main concern.”
Meyer and Fire Chief Randy Morris have toured the city with FEMA representatives to assess damage to city property and determine how much is needed.
Meyer stated that the walkthrough was specifically for damage to city property and resources, not to privately owned property.
On June 18, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe announced in a press release that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and FEMA “will participate with local officials in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) of public infrastructure in 29 counties following a stretch of severe storms that have heavily impacted several regions of the state beginning June 4,” listing Cape Girardeau County as one of the counties impacted.
“For the last two weeks, local emergency management teams across Missouri have responded to dangerous flash flooding, several tornadoes, and intense straight-line winds resulting in serious destruction to their communities,” Kehoe said in the press release. “Upon initial assessment, our local partners and SEMA believe the emergency response costs and damage to roads, bridges and other important public infrastructure meet the levels required for a federal disaster declaration for FEMA Public Assistance and warrant a formal review by FEMA.”
“We are working very hard to address these damages, and we are working hard alongside our federal and state counterparts to make sure we can do everything possible to repair these damages and fix what was damaged,” Meyer said.