A Federal Emergency Management Agency report shows Missouri had more than usual disaster damage in 2008.
Seven disaster declarations topping $180 million — and Susie Stonner with the State Emergency Management Agency says that doesn’t even include the January ice storms that devastated Southeast Missouri. The agency is still compiling assessments to see what the damage total was to infrastructure from that storm.
She says Missouri’s seven major disasters last year included two severe winter ice storms … the other five were flooding events. It’s the wind and the water — not the ice — that account for the majority of federal assistance to individuals.
Stonner says FEMA records dating back to 1953 rank Missouri as the eighth most natural disaster-prone state in the nation. Missouri averages about six disaster declarations per year with storms and flooding … but she says in recent years more and more ice storms are being recorded.
To view the report, the county breakdown and more, visit FEMA.gov .