October 31, 2009

As anyone who was here at the time knows, the summer of 2008 was a bad one for Iowa.
Killer tornadoes, storms, and of course, the Floods of 08.
But, as Kristian Leitzen shows us, the Federal Government thinks its ok to lump all of those disasters into one, and now some flood victims could be paying big for that decision.

In May of 2008, an EF5 tornado ripped through Parkersburg, New Hartford, Dunkerton and Hazleton, killing eight people and hurting 70 more.
Then, a month later, non-stop rain sent Eastern Iowa rivers rushing out of their banks and into homes, washing away lives and memories.
Two disasters, a month apart, but for the Federal Government, one single event that only required one disaster declaration.
For some, that's a good thing, that means help got here quickly.
But for flood victims still stuck in their FEMA provided mobile homes nearly a year and a half later, it presents a problem.
You see, the declaration was made on May 27th, nearly a month before the floods.
FEMA gives families 18 months of housing assistance after a disaster, but that help is dated from the disaster declaration, not when the families actually moved in to their FEMA provided home.
Because FEMA lumped the disasters together, its a difference of three months for some.
Laurie Barrick "I moved in August 26th, that's when I started moving in."
Moldy homes had to be scrubbed or replaced before families could live in them.
And the dangerous formaldehyde levels CBS 2 uncovered in our Poisoned Promises investigation kept some flood victims living in tents, because their FEMA homes made them sick.
But FEMA is still counting May 27th, the date of the disaster declaration, when they calculate flood victims' move-out date.
The original deadline was November 27th, 18 months after the May 27th declaration.
FEMA recently gave flood victims a seven month extension, but their housing assistance still ends in November.
So the flood victims will have to pay rent, starting after November 27th, at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department's fair market rate of $920 a month.
Monica Lewis "If it comes down to the $920 I will still have to be out of here, regardless."
But if the deadline was calculated from their move in-date, in late August for some, 18 months wouldn't be till the end of February.
What that could mean is a savings of nearly three thousand dollars for families paying rent for those three months.
And three thousand dollars could go a long way toward finally finding a house that could become their new home.
Kristian Leitzen, CBS 2 News.

We put in a call to FEMA today to find out if the three month discrepancy will be taken into account, and flood victims will get the full 18 months of housing assistance.
There's no one in the office on Saturday, so we called a few FEMA reps directly.
No answers yet, stay tuned to CBS 2 for FEMA's response.Questions about FEMA Housing Assistance Deadline