FEMA begins storm assistance in Northwest Arkansas

FEMA has approved $2.3 million to help people in Benton County affected by the Memorial Day weekend storms , the agency told Axios.

By the numbers: As of Friday, 88 homes in Benton County were deemed destroyed, county spokesperson Melody Kwok told Axios. Another 356 were considered to have major damage, and 1,114 had minor damage.

The county reported 3,030 damage assessments.

Zoom out: The Benton County Relief Fund , a local effort to provide immediate help to residents and nonprofits affected by the storms, has raised $1.2 million, Justin Fletcher, chief program officer at Excellerate Foundation, told Axios. Excellerate is an NWA nonprofit handling the fund.

• The fund has received 1,261 applications from individuals and 34 from nonprofits. It has divided $700,000 among 327 individuals and 28 nonprofits.

The latest: The county has hired a contractor to pick up debris on county-maintained roads and is asking that this refuse — separated into vegetative (like tree branches) and construction piles — be placed at public rights-of-way for pickup, according to a news release. It should not be in bags. Find more information.

• The city of Rogers continues to clean up, too.