Gov. Kay Ivey on Oct. 23 asked for a federal major disaster declaration for 23 Alabama counties hit by Hurricane Isaias, her office announced that evening.
The request asks the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover eligible hurricane-related costs for governments and certain nonprofits, and it seeks individual assistance that, if approved, could help households affected by the storm, the governor’s office said.
The counties in the request are Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Pike, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox. Perry, Marengo and Choctaw counties are on the list; Hale, Bibb and Jefferson counties are not.
Damage assessment is continuing, and other counties may be added to the request, the governor’s office said.
As of Saturday, Oct. 24, the only federal declaration in place in Alabama for the storm was FEMA’s Oct. 9 emergency declaration for Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, FEMA’s records show. It does not include individual assistance.
“Assessments indicated this hurricane certainly caused significant damage across communities in parts of Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “We saw individual homes and public infrastructure impacted. Having support from FEMA is critical to states like Alabama, and I am hopeful this request will be fulfilled so we can get Alabamians quickly back on their feet.” On Oct. 14, Ivey extended the state of emergency she had declared for the storm through Oct. 28.
