Federal Disaster Assistance Includes the Right to Appeal

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Georgia disaster survivors have the right to appeal a FEMA decision about what assistance they are eligible to receive. They can question the amount or type of help FEMA provided or any other decision about federal disaster assistance.
 

To submit an appeal, survivors should explain in writing why they disagree with the FEMA decision and be specific.

There are many reasons for denial of assistance but the simplest could be: An applicant did not submit all the necessary documents to support the claim including, for instance, an insurance settlement letter, proof of residence, proof of ownership of the damaged property or contractor’s estimate for repairs not covered.
 

Federal assistance is available to eligible individuals and households in Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh and Wayne counties. Damage or losses from Hurricane Matthew must have occurred Oct. 4-15.
 

Applicants from the 10 eligible counties have 60 days from the date on FEMA’s decision letter to file an appeal. The appeal letter should include:
 

·       Applicant’s full name

·       Date and place of birth

·       Address

·       Supporting documents
 

The letter should be notarized and include a copy of a state-issued identification card or the following statement: “I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.”

The letter must be signed by the applicant, dated and mailed to:

FEMA

National Processing Service Center

P.O. Box 10055

Hyattsville, MD 20782-7055

Letters may also be faxed to 800-827-8112 with a cover sheet marked: Attention – FEMA or uploaded to the applicant’s account on DisasterAssistance.gov.

For updates on Georgia’s Hurricane Matthew response and recovery, follow @GeorgiaEMA and @FEMARegion4 on Twitter and visit gemhsa.ga.gov and fema.gov/disaster/4284. 

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