President Biden’s issuance of a major disaster declaration involving 16 Kansas counties, including four in the KVOE listening area, will go beyond certain aid programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
US Housing and Urban Development says it is giving a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures involving mortgages approved by the Federal Housing Administration, and it says conventional mortgage holders in the affected counties may be eligible for relief through their lenders. Among other forms of relief, HUD also says recipients of certain grant funds, including Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Solutions Grants, HOME Program and Housing Trust Fund Program dollars can apply for “administrative flexibility.”
FEMA is also letting local and state governments, as well as rural electric cooperatives, apply for Public Assistance reimbursement funds to repair or replace infrastructure. The disaster declaration also opens up the Hazard Mitigation Mitigation Grant program so government entities can enact projects to reduce or halt long-term life and property risks from natural hazards.
Chase, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties are included in the disaster declaration.
