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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Monday, July 7, 2008 9:25 PM CDT
FEMA offers aid to bereaved families on recent deaths from severe weather

By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com

A Federal Emergency Management Agency official is conducting bereavement duty on recent storm-related deaths in Coles County, Coles County Coroner Mike Nichols said.

Nichols said the FEMA representative is confirming information on a June 5 flooding death along the Kaskaskia River, west of Humboldt. The official is also looking into a recent Coles County death “triggered” by concern over flooding conditions.

Nichols said he understood the FEMA field work is not part of his investigation, which determined Ralph Idleman died in an accidental drowning when his car left a roadway near a bridge over the Kaskaskia River in northern Coles County. Nichols will not hold an inquest, and has issued a death certificate on Idleman’s death.

“No one really knows [why he drove across the flooded roadway],” Nichols said Monday. “There was mud already on the road so with the hydraulics of the high water it forced him off. The car was found in 8 to 10 feet of water. It is obvious this is an accidental drowning. The death certificate has been filed.”

Questions have been posed through recent letters to the editor on why the roadways leading to the river crossing were not closed that day. Nichols said the FEMA representative is not asking questions on warning signs on the roadways leading to where Idleman died that day. The flooding along the Kaskaskia occurred on a bright, sunny day as flooding from outside the county overflowed the banks of the Kaskaskia.

As a FEMA bereavement officer, the official talks with public officials, funeral home employees and relatives of the deceased to confirm facts for the agency registration system on aid to families. Checks for assistance on funeral expenses and loss of property are also arranged when accepted by the survivors. The FEMA program can also provide counseling to those suffering from their personal loss.

“We talk to family members. We can arrange for checks. But they must register with the system. It is their decision, we can’t force them to accept anything,”said a FEMA official, who requested anonymity without authority from superiors to comment to the news media.

However, the FEMA cases are still being confirmed under the agency procedure, another FEMA official added. He said additional information will be forthcoming this week.

Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.

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