ARIZ. TO GET FEDERAL HELP FOR STORM RECOVERY:

Federal disaster funds have been made available for Arizona to help local governments recover from the effects of a round of severe storms that struck the state in February, the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced. The assistance was authorized by President Bush under a major disaster declaration issued following a review of FEMA’s analysis of the state’s request for federal aid. The declaration covers damage to public property from severe storms and flooding that occurred over the period of Feb. 10-15. The state was declared for federal disaster assistance earlier this year for the series of storms that happened in late December and early January. The following jurisdictions are eligible for federal funds to pay the state and affected local governments and certain private non-profit organizations 75 percent of the approved costs for emergency work and the restoration of damaged facilities: the counties of Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Mohave, Pinal, and Yavapai, and the Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the portion of the Navajo Tribal Nation within the state. Federal funding will be available on a cost-shared basis for approved hazard mitigation projects in the counties of Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Pinal and Yavapai, and the Gila River Indian Community, the Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the portion of the Navajo Tribal Nation within the state.