Louisiana Disaster Survivors: You Owe It to Yourselves to Register by the June 13 Deadline

BATON ROUGE, La. – The people of Louisiana have had a rough time. Almost everyone knows someone who is still getting their life back on track after the March 8 through April 8 floods. You may be one yourself.

You owe it to yourself to see if you qualify for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency before the deadline to register expires Monday, June 13.

Don’t miss out. If you live in one of the 36 designated parishes and had disaster related damage or loss, here’s how you can find out what may be available. Be sure to do it by June 13:

• Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The phone conversation will take about 20 minutes if you have the following information available:

• Your Social Security number
• Your current and pre-disaster address
• A telephone number where you can be contacted
• Insurance information
• Total household annual income
• A description of your losses caused by the disaster

• Cuando llame al 800-621-3362 marque el 1 y escuche las instrucciones en español. Favor llamar antes del lunes 13 de junio.

• If you use 711/VRS call 800-621-3362.

• Register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or www.fema.gov/disaster/4263. You have until June 13 to do so.

• All FEMA disaster recovery centers in the state closed as of Friday, June 10.

If you have questions about how you may qualify for a low-interest disaster SBA loan for property damage, make sure you apply before Monday, June 13. You have until Dec. 13, 2016 to apply for a low-interest disaster SBA loan for economic injury.

• Call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster. If you are deaf or hard-of-hearing you can call 800-877-8339.

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We urge everyone to continue to use caution in areas where floodwaters remain. Monitor DOTD’s www.511la.org website for updated road closure information. Look for advisories from your local authorities and emergency managers. You can find the latest information on the state’s response at  www.emergency.la.gov. GOHSEP also provides information at www.gohsep.la.gov, Facebook and Twitter. You can receive emergency alerts on most smartphones and tablets by downloading the new Alert FM App. It is free for basic service. You can also download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at www.getagameplan.org.

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). If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

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 https://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

FEMA offers a number of free online resources for home and property owners. To get started, go to www.fema.gov/safer-stronger-protected-homes-communities or http://www.fema.gov/louisiana-disaster-mitigation.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (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 SBA.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.

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