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Mo. gets $13.9M more for disaster cleanup program

Tree limbs piled up near Saint John's Hospital in Joplin, Mo. on May 22, 2011 after a tornado swept through the area.
(UPI/Rick Meyer)
Tree limbs piled up near Saint John's Hospital in Joplin, Mo. on May 22, 2011 after a tornado swept through the area.

Missouri is getting more money to put people who have lost their jobs to natural disasters back to work helping with the cleanup.

The Disaster Recovery Jobs Program was created last month with funding from the federal Workforce Investment Act. The state used an initial allocation of nearly $6 million to hire 400 people for recovery work from the May 22 tornado in Joplin.

Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that Missouri now has an additional $13.9 million for the program.

Some of the money will be used to hire 130 more workers from Jasper and Newton counties to help with the tornado recovery.

The funds will also allow 320 people to be hired in 34 counties for flood cleanup in southern and southeastern Missouri.