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Reznet: Chippewa Cree Tribe working to rebuild after major storm
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Filed Under: National

"A half-year ago, much of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in north central Montana was under water.

Still in recovery mode, the Chippewa Cree tribe is facing years of work just to get back to where they were before the unprecedented flood hit this small reservation in mid-June last year.

Ted Whitford, a Rocky Boy tribal councilman, estimated that the reservation sustained more than $31 million in flood damages.

The flood washed out roads and destroyed plumbing lines leaving hundreds of homes without water for days. In all, 12 inches of rain fell, over-saturating the ground and shifted the land under a $12 million health clinic rendering it condemned. In August, President Barack Obama ordered a disaster declaration for the reservation and portions of Hill County.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering the entire cost for the recovery, including reimbursing the tribe for any rebuilding costs that the tribe incurred before the federal declaration, Whitford said.

It’s a rare move as the federal government usually splits costs with those in the affected area. The tribe’s poor economic state almost certainly factored into FEMA’s decision, Whitford said."

Get the Story:
Rocky Boy’s still recovering from summer flood: Rebuilding efforts could take three years (Reznet News 1/25)