Last week Bladen County Emergency Services told eight county residents funding had been approved for them to receive assistance due to their damages from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. This week, County officials are having to call the eight residents back to inform them the funding has been frozen according Emergency Services Director, Bradley Kinlaw.
The federal funding approved for the local residents was allocated to assist the property owners with elevation, reconstruction, or acquisition of their property according to Kinlaw. However, since disaster has struck in Florida and Texas recently the federal dollars Bladen County residents had been approved to receive have been frozen to enable funds to be sent to those U.S. citizens in critical need, Kinlaw explained.
Kinlaw explained the situation. The people in Florida and Texas are in immediate need of housing and other items just to survive. The local residents here in the mother county are already relocated to safe housing and have been assisted with their immediate needs. Therefore, the federal dollars earmarked for disaster relief will be going to U.S. citizens in the most critical need.
The local residents still displaced by Hurricane Matthew are being reinsured by Kinlaw they will receive the funding they were approved to receive as soon as the legislators meet again and approve more funds to be spent on disaster relief efforts in the States affected by hurricanes.
About Author
