Oklahoma emergency management director reports spike in disaster payouts, outlines staffing and loan program

Annie Mac Vest, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, told the House Appropriations and Budget Committee on the agency’s performance review that Oklahoma experienced multiple major disasters in the past year and that the agency has paid out substantial federal disaster assistance.

“Our mission is to help minimize the effects of disasters and emergencies upon the people of Oklahoma,” Vest said at the committee hearing. She told members the agency administered and distributed FEMA public assistance, supported local recovery over multiple years and managed both the state’s 9-1-1 program and large federal grant portfolios.

Vest told the committee that OEM staff had verified documentation and helped applicants obtain federal reimbursements and that the agency had “successfully paid out a hundred and 13,000,000 in FEMA public assistance dollars to applicants across Oklahoma…