(TNS) – With more than 5,000 homes impacted by recent natural disasters – primarily flooding in Northwest Iowa and tornadoes in Southwest Iowa – state leaders Thursday announced new programs designed to assist Iowans coping with the aftermath.
The programs, from both the state and federal governments, will supply grants, loans and other financial assistance to Iowans whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes and floods.
More than 5,000 homes in Iowa have been impacted by the natural disasters, including roughly 2,000 that have been destroyed, Gov. Kim Reynolds said during a news conference at the Iowa Capitol.
Reynolds said the figures are expected to increase, and that housing has become a top concern in the communities that were hit hardest by the disasters. Iowa, like much of the country, faced a housing shortage even before the recent storms displaced thousands of Iowans.
Many of those Iowans want to stay in their communities, Reynolds said. For that to happen, more housing will be needed.
“We have been developing plans for the state’s immediate and long-term recovery for one of the most urgent needs that we’ve heard at every single stop, almost, that we’ve been at, and that is housing,” Reynolds said.
She described new state programs she said were designed “to address this need for not only temporary housing, but for plans to get permanent housing in place as soon as possible.”
Reynolds highlighted three state and federal programs in particular.
Major General Stephen Osborn , Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard , provides an update on the state’s natural disaster recovery efforts during a news conference at the Capitol in Des Moines on Thursday.
Housing assistance
The State Disaster Recovery New Housing Grant will provide $50,000 grants to developers who build single-family homes, duplexes and town homes in Iowa counties that fall under the federal disaster declaration.
As of Thursday afternoon, 23 counties were included in that declaration, with Woodbury County being the most recent addition. Reynolds and other state leaders said they expected more counties to be added.
That program is being funded with $10 million of federal pandemic relief assistance funding, the governor’s office said.
The Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance program provides forgivable, five-year loans up to $50,000 for housing recovery needs not covered by insurance or federal assistance. The program is not new – it was established by the Iowa Legislature in 2021, but never funded. The governor’s office said a $6.5 million transfer of state funds will now fund it.
This program is available to impacted Iowans in any of the counties under state disaster proclamations. A list of counties with an active state disaster declaration can be found on the state homeland security department’s website at homelandsecurity.iowa.gov.
Reynolds said the state also will designate for sale to disaster-impacted Iowans five homes newly constructed by the state’s Homes for Iowa program – under which homes are constructed by prison inmates – that are scheduled to be available within the next roughly four months. Each home is 1,200 square feet, features three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and costs $95,000.
Applications for those new programs can be submitted starting Monday at iowagrants.gov.
State working with feds
The state also has applied for federal approval to use a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that traditionally has been used by Southern states in hurricane recovery efforts, Reynolds said.
The program provides temporary housing in impacted communities while displaced residents work toward a more permanent housing solution. Under the program, Iowans in need would be eligible for six-month placements trailers, recreational vehicles or mobile homes.
Iowa has submitted an application to use the program here; a state official said the early signals from the federal government appear to indicate the state will be approved for the program.
A similar FEMA program would provide housing for up to 18 months. The state also has submitted an application for that program.
“The idea is that we work with those survivors, put them into a safe, sound situation, where, as the governor noted, they can work on their long-term housing,” Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director John Benson said during the news conference. “Some of that will occur relatively quickly if they’re refurnishing their home, have to refurbish it, (that will take) a couple of months. Others will take longer. That’s why we want to work on the long-term housing one with FEMA to get out to that 18 months.”
Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director John Benson provides an update on the state’s natural disaster recovery efforts during a news conference at the Capitol in Des Moines on Thursday.
New farmer assistance
Reynolds also announced a new program that will reimburse one year of interest paid on federal loans to farmers who are recovering from property damage and losses caused by the severe weather.
Briefings on what the state is doing to help Iowans, businesses and communities recover from the natural disasters were given at Thursday’s news conference by leaders of the state departments on transportation, education, inspections, insurance, health and human services, and natural resources and the Iowa National Guard .
Some examples:
* The Iowa National Guard has deployed 10 high-water clearing vehicles to assist with transportation of people, equipment and supplies in flooded communities.
* The Iowa Department of Transportation has deployed nearly 100 trucks and other pieces of equipment to assist with the removal of debris and other damaged materials.
* The Iowa Department of Education is working with schools that were damaged to help them be ready for the start of the new school year in late August.
* The Iowa Health and Human Services Department is helping recruit volunteers through Volunteer Iowa for cleanup efforts and is preparing to provide behavioral health services in impacted communities.
Reynolds described the response and recovery assistance efforts as a “whole of government effort” that includes federal, state and local action. She in particular praised local government and emergency response officials, some of whom are facing serious disaster recovery issues of their own.
“Iowans are special people. They continue to look out for the needs of others before they take care of themselves,” Reynolds said. “We’re making progress. We know we still have a long way to go. But we’re determined to get there.”
Iowans interested in the various state and federal assistance programs designed to help them recover from recent natural disasters can start at two websites: disasterrecovery.iowa.gov for state assistance and disasterassistance.gov for federal assistance. State grant applications can be submitted at iowagrants.gov.
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