City Of Abbeville to Receive $1.53 Million Federal/State Public Assistance Grant

Release Date: January 28, 2003 Release Number: 1435-153

» Tropical Storm Isidore

Baton Rouge, LA -- The city of Abbeville, in Vermillion Parish, has been approved for a $1,531,507 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/State of Louisiana Public Assistance Grant for damages and losses caused by Hurricane Lili, FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh announced today.

Hurricane Lili damaged Abbeville's electrical distribution system, and more than 11,000 residents suffered power outages because of the storm. The grant announced today will reimburse the city for required repairs.

FEMA will provide $1,148,630 (75%) of total repair costs, and the remaining $382,877 (25%) will be covered by the state and the city.

"The approval of this grant, which will get Abbeville's electrical service back to pre-hurricane conditions, is a big step forward," said Art Jones, State Coordinating Officer for Louisiana. "Working together, our commitment to get everyone affected by the storm back into a settled life is this much closer."

"Our Public Assistance program is another example of the strong working partnership between the state of Louisiana and FEMA," said Allbaugh. "We remain committed to helping Louisiana recover from Hurricane Lili."

Funds are available under the FEMA Public Assistance Program, and are administered by the State of Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness. Under this program, eligible disaster-related costs are reimbursed to government, tribal and certain non-profit entities, in the areas of emergency protective measures, debris removal and restoration of public facilities