Rock Valley, Iowa — Some communities in northwest Iowa hit by massive flooding this summer are now able to apply for FEMA money to purchase damaged homes.
Rock Valley has sent its application on Monday, asking for funding to buy 110 homes. City Administrator Tom Van Maanen says, if approved, an eligible homeowner will get paid the value of their property before the natural disaster. To qualify, a home must be in an area that has flooded before this year.
More than 500 homes in Rock Valley were damaged by June’s flooding. Van Maanen says the process to get federal funding for buyouts is very competitive.
If approved, FEMA pays for 75 percent of buyouts, the State of Iowa covers 10 percent and the city involved pays the rest. The estimate for Rock Valley’s share is between four-and-a-half and six million dollars. Rock Valley also sent in a separate request for funding to purchase 30 homes that had flood insurance.
The City of Spencer is also looking at doing buyouts. The mayor of Correctionville isn’t sure if his town will submit a request for buyouts due to finances and the fact that once a home is bought out, no development can take place on the land.
