Oklahoma communities receive expedited funds for mitigation projects after severe tornadoes

More than $1.8 million has been obligated to communities in Oklahoma to date, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported Monday.

Oklahoma is already receiving expedited funds to pay for approved mitigation projects, the statement notes, adding that the $1.8 million includes a $1 million grant for Oklahoma City homeowners who were chosen by a random selection process to receive safe room rebates in 2012.

The monies are generated from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and local jurisdictions have used to fund a variety of projects, including school and residential safe rooms.

More HMGP funding, for a wide variety of initiatives, is expected to be announced later this year as part of the May 20 major disaster declaration for severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that occurred from May 18 to June 2, FEMA reports.

HMGP “supports communities as they implement critical mitigation measures to reduce the risk of loss of life and property,” Sandy Coachman, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer, adds in the statement.

Late last week, insurance commissioner John Doak urged residents to look into the Oklahoma Market Assistance Program for “hard to insure” homes in the wake of more than $1 billion of claims paid out from severe tornado damage in May.

Oklahomans have filed nearly 91,000 claims since May 19, the state’s insurance department noted at the time.