Federal Disaster Aid to Illinois Residents Tops $151 Million

AURORA, Ill. – Registration with FEMA has ended for individuals and households but federal assistance continues to flow to Illinois as the state recovers from storms and flooding that occurred April 16 through May 5. More than $151 million has now been distributed among more than 61,000 individuals and households.

The latest summary of federal assistance includes:

• More than $151 million in FEMA grants approved for individuals and households;
• Of that amount, more than $130 million has been approved for housing assistance, including temporary rental assistance and home repair costs;
• More than $21 million has been approved to cover other essential disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses and damaged personal possessions;
• More than 90,000 home inspections have been completed to confirm disaster damage;
• More than $59 million in loans to homeowners, renters or business owners has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Registration for disaster assistance for individuals and families of 35 counties affected by the disaster ended yesterday, Aug. 8.

Officials ask applicants to stay in touch with FEMA to track a claim or to keep contact information up to date. To ask questions about your claim, or to update contact information, call 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Residents can also check online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621–3362. All phone lines are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 at the Helpline if in need of assistance in other languages. 

In addition to assisting individuals and families, FEMA is helping state, local governments, and certain types of private nonprofit organizations recover from the flooding event. This arm of FEMA assistance, Public Assistance (PA), is a reimbursement program that helps communities deal with the financial burdens imposed by a disaster. The federal share of PA is not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost for emergency measures and permanent restoration.  Thus far, more than 620 requests for Public Assistance have been submitted.

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 FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only.  

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Media Contact: 571-408-1835