CONGRESSMAN
COLLIN C. PETERSON
Minnesota - 7th District http://www.house.gov/collinpeterson/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2002
CONTACT: Allison Myhre/218-847-5056
Peterson
Announces Presidential Disaster Declaration
(ROSEAU, MN) – U.S. Congressman Collin C.
Peterson announced this afternoon that President Bush declared thirteen
counties in Minnesota a major disaster area. This Disaster Declaration makes available several different
kinds of Federal aid, including individual and public assistance for those
affected by the flooding and severe weather in northwestern Minnesota.
"I appreciate the President’s prompt
attention to this serious situation. I
have been speaking with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director,
Joe Allbaugh, during the past several days explaining the urgent needs we
have. He assured me that FEMA
will immediately begin their work in our area,” Peterson said.
According to Peterson the declaration includes
the following counties: Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake
of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake and
Roseau. Individual assistance
is available immediately for Roseau County residents.
Hazard Mitigation funds are available for the entire are.
Additional designations may be made at a later date.
Noting the large size of the disaster
declaration area, Peterson added, “The entire region has seen tremendous
damage to homes, roads, land and public infrastructure.
While important attention has been given to the devastation in Roseau
and other towns we cannot forget that the flood did not stop at the city
limits. We are all in this
together and we will need to pull together once again to help our neighbors
and friends.”
Peterson expressed admiration and thanks for
the hard work and determination of the many volunteers, community leaders,
and relief workers. “We
needed to save as much as we could so these towns would remain viable when
the water was gone. I am
honored to have been part of this effort to hold communities together. This is what makes northwestern Minnesota so special—the
people.”
Peterson noted that he continues to have
members of his Congressional staff on site and available to assist affected
communities. Anyone with
questions about flood-related assistance can contact FEMA, the Small
Business Administration (SBA), the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army or one of Congressman
Peterson’s offices.
-30-
Contact Information:
FEMA/SBA 800-621-FEMA
USDA contact county office
American Red Cross 218-736-3481
The Salvation Army 800-725-2769
U.S. Rep Peterson 218-253-4356 (Red Lake Falls)
U.S. Rep. Peterson 218-847-5056 (Detroit Lakes)
U.S. Rep. Peterson 320-259-0559 (Waite Park)
U.S. Rep. Peterson 202-225-2165 (Washington, DC)