Governor asks President Bush to declare Jasper, Newton counties federal disaster area

Gov. Matt Blunt today urged President Bush to designate Jasper and Newton counties as federal disaster areaa. The following news release was issued:

Gov. Matt Blunt today asked President Bush to quickly approve two separate Disaster Declarations for both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for Clay, Douglas and Jackson Counties impacted by the May 2 tornadoes, and Barry, Jasper and Newton Counties impacted by the May 10, 2008 tornadoes.
"The two separate tornado events were devastating to our citizens. I appreciated the recent visit by Homeland Security Chertoff and FEMA Administrator Paulison which gave me the opportunity to show them first hand the destruction caused by the tornadoes in Southwest Missouri," Gov. Blunt said. "While I understand FEMA might prefer two separate disaster requests, I hope the President will combine both events into one declaration to better assist in the recovery efforts in the affected areas."
The May 10 tornadoes caused 16 deaths and more than 200 storm related injuries, in addition to leaving 9000 customers without power in Barry, Jasper and Newton Counties. The damage assessments were completed on May 15th. The Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments included inspections of more than 550 damaged primary residences in the three counties. Teams identified 154 homes that were destroyed and 58 homes that had major damage. The teams also identified $6.2 million in costs to public infrastructure.