The presidential declaration came 2-1/2 weeks after the tornado.
Here are some of the milestones along the way to Fridley's inclusion in the presidential disaster declaration for the May 22 tornado: May 22: May 23: May 26: May 27: May 31: June 3: June 7:
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Federal aid with local-government costs covers Hennepin, Anoka counties.
President Obama declared Tuesday that the May 22 tornado that struck Fridley was a federal disaster. That allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release federal funds to help cover cleanup and other costs. (See also Timeline: How Fridley Tornado Got Federal Disaster Status.) The president's declaration covers Hennepin and Anoka counties for public assistance—that is, for local government expenses. Cities and the counties can apply to recover 75 percent or more of their costs for: The state of Minnesota also asked for federal assistance to individuals, but only for individuals in Hennepin County. That request is still pending. Here is the text of the FEMA announcement of the presidential declaration: From FEMA on Tuesday: …
The near-miss of the recent tornado made me realize I have no game plan if we ever do get caught in a disaster.
We were about ten minutes down the road from the deadzone of cell reception that is my mother's house in Omaha when my coverage came back, and the emails, texts and Direct Messages via Twitter started pouring in. "Are you back yet?" "Are you ok?" "Did your house get hit?" It was 5 p.m. and we were heading back to our home after a trip to visit my family in Nebraska, and we had no idea that a tornado had passed less than three hours earlier. And, with nearly seven hours left on the road, we had absolutely no idea what we would find once we pulled into our neighborhood in the dead of the night. We were lucky. The storm literally hooked its way around us, doing most of its damage first just across the river, then directly north. When we …
Samara Postuma
8:01 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
As someone who spends a fair amount of time during storms in our basement this is good to think about. Being in St. Michael, I think our sirens go off at least a handful of times in the summer. Putting our shoes on when we head down isn't a bad idea, either is making sure we've got a diaper or two. more ›