DAVENPORT, Iowa — It hit like a hurricane.
And in many ways that's just what it was: a landlocked Iowa hurricane.
The impact of the August 10th derecho, and its punishing winds of more than 100-miles per hour, is still felt two months later.
"We've already been able to approve more than 2100 households for FEMA Individual Assistance Grants," said FEMA spokesman John Mills on "News 8 This Week with Jim Mertens."
Officially, according to FEMA, it's called DR-4557-IA, Iowa's disaster proclamation.
RESOURSES FOR YOU TO GET HELP:
- Get answers and apply for help at disasterassistance.gov
- Call FEMA's help line at (800) 621-3362
- Iowa offers help at disasterrecovery.iowa.gov
Since the storm, FEMA disaster assistance centers have opened up in Iowa for storm victims who are facing big losses.
"Insurance is your first line of defense," said Mills.
IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
- The drive thru assistance center will be open 9am to 6pm at the Davenport Aquatic Center until Saturday, October 10
- Disaster assistant requests to FEMA are due by October 19
"A lot of people may be covered by their insurance. But if you have a need your insurance is not going to cover, or you already know they are not going to cover it – let us know and FEMA will try and provide assistance."
A center that opened a few weeks ago in Bettendorf has now moved to Davenport, outside the Aquatic Center at 28th Street and Eastern Avenue..
It'll stay open until October 10th with workers offering answers to questions for individual homeowners, property owners, renters, and others.
Listen to John Mills' complete interview in this podcast: "The Cities with Jim Mertens".
"A lot of people have received money in a matter of days so very soon after the registration," said Mills.
You need to bring with you identification and documentation of your losses.
"If you need to relocate due to serious damage to your primary residence, people have been telling us that, right away and generally, we've been able to approve grant money very, very quickly," said Mills.
Watch "News 8 This Week with Jim Mertens" Sunday mornings at 10 on WQAD News 8.