FIRST ON 3: FEMA will not help Bladen Co. storm victims unless area is declared federal disaster area

THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS RELEASE FROM THE BLADEN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR:

Individual assistance damage assessment teams covered the county yesterday. These teams were made up of FEMA and State personnel. They did a quick assessment of the damages and returned to Raleigh to total the dollar amounts. It is our understanding that FEMA will not return until this event is declared as a Federal Disaster.

A total of 4 people lost their lives in Bladen as a result of this event. 3 from Ammon and 1 from Bladenboro .

No Shelter is open. Bladen Co. DSS is handling the sheltering needs at this time.

We are being told that all power is restored except to the homes that had a direct hit from the storm

Emergency water and food is still be distributed at Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, and Ammon FD from 9-5 for victims who were impacted by this storm