Federal funds could pay for the city to haul this massive brush pile from the former Kewanee Public Hospital site on West Division Street to a vacant space south of Pleasant View Cemetery, where it will be set on fire. [Photo by Michael Berry]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Illinois to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding from July 13-16.

President Joe Biden approved a request for the assistance from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The federal funding is available to affected individuals in Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will and Winnebago counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Darrin Ricketts has been named the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further assessments.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA app. 

Those who use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.