![]() It's submitted more than $88 million of expenses to FEMA, of which the federal government could pay for 75 percent. The hospital expects to get more than $345 million from insurance. Hospital administrators estimate their total cost from the tornado at $950 million, including demolishing the old building, creating temporary facilities and constructing a permanent replacement. The hospital served patients from a wide region extending into southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. ![]() John's Regional Medical Center, will benefit people well beyond Joplin. Some of the taxpayer-subsidized projects, such as rebuilding St. warranted the president declaring it" a disaster zone. "The likelihood of Joplin being able to recover successfully without federal assistance. ![]() "We're talking thousands of families impacted, hundreds of deaths, the trauma to the community alone was overwhelming," Fugate said. What made the Joplin tornado so unusual was the intensity of the devastation in such a concentrated area, he said. "It seems to me this indicates the bad incentive problem that comes with federal involvement - that states would rather tap federal taxpayers before they have to tap their own taxpayers," said Chris Edwards, an economist and editor of, a website run by the Washington-based Cato Institute, a group that promotes free markets.įEMA Director Craig Fugate said it takes an especially destructive tornado to trigger federal aid. Some critics of federal disaster aid point to Missouri's rainy day fund as a prime example of how states pass the buck to the federal government for local tragedies. Jay Nixon and some lawmakers are reluctant to trigger a constitutional mandate that the borrowed money be replenished within three years. But the fund hasn't been tapped for Joplin because Gov. Missouri has a rainy day fund with about $500 million that was created for costly emergencies. Congress responded in December by authorizing an extra $8.6 billion in disaster aid. Other included blizzards, wildfires and hurricanes. The Joplin tornado, which killed 161 people, was one of 99 major disasters declared by President Barack Obama in 2011. ![]() "I like to consider myself a survivalist, but there was nothing to survive with." I mean there's no way," said Robertson, who finally moved into a rebuilt rental home about three weeks ago. "There are just thousands of people who would not have recovered at all had that aid not been there. No rent or utility payments were required. After several months of temporary living arrangements, Robertson eventually got one of the FEMA trailers for tornado survivors. The twister killed Danielle Robertson's mother and destroyed the duplex she shared with her teenage daughter and two dogs. Yet the Joplin tornado raises questions anew about the government's role in disasters.įor Joplin families still on the long road to recovery, the taxpayer aid generally is appreciated. The outpouring of assistance is nowhere near the scale of Hurricane Katrina, which swamped New Orleans and damaged property along a wide swath of the Gulf Coast in 2005. Additional money could help subsidize construction of a new hospital to replace one that was irreparably damaged.Īll told, about two dozen school districts, emergency agencies, public housing authorities, religious groups and other nonprofits could receive taxpayer money through a program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tens of millions more dollars went to individuals for temporary housing and other living expenses in the immediate aftermath of the storm. But taxpayers could supply about $500 million in the form of federal and state disaster aid, low-interest loans and local bonds backed by higher taxes, according to records obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with federal, state and local officials.Īlmost one-fifth of that money was paid to contractors who hauled off debris. Insurance policies are expected to cover most of the $2.8 billion in damage. Now it carries another distinction - the costliest since at least 1950. The tornado that tore through Joplin a year ago already ranks as the deadliest twister in six decades. Shelter and care for more than 1,300 homeless pets: $372,000. A new concession stand at the destroyed high school: $228,600. The cost of 30 manhole covers that got sucked away: $5,800. Trending Questions What are the characteristics of a cyclonic storm? How can water cause mechanical weathering? If 100J of energy are required to draw a bow what is the kinetic energy of the arrow at the moment of release? What is Bromine state of Matter at room temperature? Is matchstick is a conductor? How many moles of Ag contain 4.JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
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