Three Weeks’ Later, Federal Assistance Tops $1 Million for Arkansas Recovery

NORTH LITTLE ROCK – Three weeks after a federal disaster declaration made assistance available, more than $1 million in aid is helping the residents of nine Arkansas counties recover from the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding, May 7 to June 15, 2015.

To date, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, 151 persons have been approved for disaster assistance (as of 7 a.m. on Friday, July 17, 2015).

That assistance includes $710,750 in housing aid to help homeowners and renters:

• Rent temporary housing for a limited period of time;
• Repair damage from the disaster to a homeowner’s primary residence that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the home safe, sanitary and functional; and,
• Help replace homes destroyed in the disaster.

The assistance also includes $68,053 to help pay for:

• Disaster-related medical and dental costs;
• Disaster-related funeral and burial costs;
• Clothing, household items, tools required for work and necessary educational materials;
• Clean-up items;
• Disaster-damaged vehicles;
• Moving and storage expenses related to the disaster; and,
• Other necessary expenses or serious needs as determined by FEMA.

Also, $313,800 in low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofit organizations has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration;

Residents of nine Arkansas counties may be eligible for disaster assistance. Residents of Crawford, Garland, Howard, Jefferson, Little River, Miller, Perry, Sebastian and Sevier counties are encouraged to register for assistance with FEMA by the Aug. 25, 2015 deadline.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses can apply for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov. Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available.

The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.

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.