FEMA Adds 9 Kansas Counties to May Disaster List

Nine more Kansas counties have been declared eligible for federal assistance to repair public facilities damaged by this month’s violent weather.

The declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency applies to Comanche, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Jackson, Lincoln, Osage, Ottawa, Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties.

Five others _ Barton, Edwards, Kiowa, Pratt and Stafford _ had earlier been declared eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance cost-share program to repair or replace infrastructure damaged by the tornadoes, storms and floods of early May.

Under the cost-share program, federal funds cover 75 percent of the cost of repairs carried out by state and local governments, school districts and municipal authorities. Some nonprofit organizations also fall under the program.