Birmingham, AL – The Federal Emergency Management Agency says fewer than one in five Alabamians who applied for federal disaster aid after the April 27 tornadoes have been approved for a grant so far.
FEMA released the figures on Wednesday. It says it has issued grants to nearly half of the applicants in Joplin, Mo., which was devastated by a tornado on May 22. That's compared with 18 percent in Alabama.
In Mississippi, which was hit with the same storm as Alabama three months ago, FEMA has approved one-quarter of its grant requests.
Emergency management officials say each disaster is different, with variables such as extent of insurance coverage and demographics influencing the numbers.
Registration to apply for FEMA grants and Small Business Administration disaster loans from the Alabama storms ended Monday.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)