JoplinGlobe reports Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Chief William Fugate returned to Joplin for the first time since the five days he spent following the EF-5 twister that leveled a central city area May 22. The area has received $181.5 million in FEMA assistance for housing and temporary schools, fire stations, hospitals, and other essential public buildings. Of the 586 households eligible for emergency housing, 569 of those have been placed. 375 families live in three temporary manufactured housing communities established after the tornado; 141 others live in FEMA homes in existing communities. Fugate is working with area government officials to document claims for reimbursement from FEMA for permanent construction, and to discuss the construction of permanent public buildings set to begin next fall. “Coming in today, there are very few signs something has happened until you get to the tornado zone,” he said. After touring the area, Fugate stood on a high point near the destroyed St. John’s Hospital and said, “It’s progress. The scars are still there and are going to be there for a long time. But it’s come a long way.”
