Be a Good Neighbor – Remind Storm Survivors to Register for Assistance

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Residents of the nine Arkansas counties included in the federal disaster declaration are encouraged to remind their neighbors: “Register with FEMA for disaster aid.”

Today’s communication tools provide many high-tech ways to share information, but the most effective way to “get the word out” is still the original one: through personal contact.

Residents of Crawford, Garland, Howard, Jefferson, Little River, Miller, Perry, Sebastian and Sevier counties may be eligible for federal disaster assistance, but the amount of time to register for help is limited.

The deadline to register is Aug. 25, 2015.

“Even if you have already registered for disaster assistance with FEMA, you may know someone, a family member or a neighbor who has not applied for help. Please take a few moments to call or knock on your neighbors’ doors to see if they have applied with FEMA,” said State Coordinating Officer Scott Bass with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Federal disaster aid may include financial help with rental assistance, home repairs and replacing essential household items not covered by insurance. Other assistance may be available to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs.

Low-interest disaster loans are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to businesses of all sizes, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters to pay for repair or replacement costs of disaster damaged primary residences, businesses and personal property. These loans cover costs not fully compensated by insurance and cannot duplicate benefits from other agencies or compensation from other organizations.

Individuals and families who suffered losses as a result of the late spring storms have until Aug. 25, 2015 to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance. They can do so online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621- 3362 (FEMA).  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.

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.