Residents of Nine Newly Declared Counties Should Register for Disaster Assistance Soon

OKLAHOMA CITY – Homeowners, renters and business owners in Carter, Jefferson, Latimer, Mayes, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Pushmataha, Stephens and Tulsa counties affected by the severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding and tornadoes occurring May 5 through June 4 should register for state and federal disaster assistance as soon as possible.

All nine of these Oklahoma counties were approved for Individual Assistance (IA) and added to the federal disaster declaration on July 2.

Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM), and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may include grants and/or disaster assistance loans to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and replacement costs.

Low-interest SBA disaster loans may be available to businesses of all sizes as well as private nonprofit organizations. Homeowners and renters are also eligible for SBA loans for losses not fully compensated by insurance or other payments and do not duplicate benefits from other agencies or organizations.

There are several easy ways to register for assistance.

You can apply at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or via telephone by calling 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (CST) seven days a week until further notice.

Registering with FEMA is required for federal aid, even if the person has registered with another disaster relief organization such as the American Red Cross, local officials or churches. Registrants with FEMA must use the name that appears on their Social Security card. Applicants will be asked to provide: 

• Social Security number;
• Address of the damaged home or apartment and proof the applicant lived there at the time of the disaster;
• Description of the damage;
• Information about insurance coverage;
• A current contact telephone number; 
• An address where you can get mail; and 
• Bank account and routing numbers (if you want direct deposit of any financial assistance).

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4222 or visit OEM at www.oem.ok.gov. 

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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) prepares for, responds to, recovers from and mitigates against emergencies and disasters. The department delivers service to Oklahoma cities, towns and counties through a network of more than 350 local emergency managers.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.