FEMA Disaster Assistance Extended to Additional Counties

OKLAHOMA CITY – Additional counties are now approved for Individual Assistance and for Public Assistance as a result of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding that began on May 5.

Homeowners, renters and business owners in four more Oklahoma counties affected by storms that occurred from May 5 through June 4 can now apply for state and federal disaster assistance. These counties are Choctaw, Cotton, Rogers and Tillman, which brings the total approved to 24.

Individual Assistance was extended to those counties after a review of on-going damage assessments by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Disaster assistance for qualified applicants may include:

• Grants for rental assistance or temporary housing;
• Grants for home repairs not covered by insurance;
• Grants for serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance—such as medical, dental, funeral, personal property, vehicles and moving and storage; and
• Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may be available to businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, and homeowners and renters for losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

Survivors in all 24 designated counties (Atoka, Beckham, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Choctaw, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Johnston, Kiowa, Le Flore, Marshall, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh, Oklahoma, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Rogers, Seminole, Tillman, and Wagoner) who sustained losses or damage from these storms should register with FEMA as soon as possible. There are three easy ways to apply:

• Online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov;
• Via smartphone or web-enabled device by using the FEMA app;
• Or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362 to register.

Additionally, Federal Public Assistance is now available to 14 more counties in Oklahoma as a result of the May 5 to June 4 storms: Craig, Custer, Dewey, Grant, Jefferson, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Major, Noble, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Roger Mills and Wagoner.

Public Assistance funding helps repair or rebuild public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water systems, utilities and public buildings such as schools. Types of entities that may be eligible for Public Assistance include:

• Local governments and special districts
• Certain private nonprofit organizations or institutions that conduct activities of a governmental nature and are open to the general public;
• Federally recognized tribes; and
• State government agencies.

Adair, Atoka, Beckham, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Creek, Garvin, Grady, Haskell, Hughes, Jackson, Johnston, Latimer, Le Flore, Logan, Love, Marshall, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh, Murray, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Tillman, and Washita counties are also eligible for Public Assistance funding, totaling 54 counties in all.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4222  or visit the OEM site at www.oem.ok.gov.

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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). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) prepares for, responds to, recovers from and mitigates against emergencies and disasters. The department delivers services to Oklahoma cities, towns and counties through a network of more than 350 local emergency managers.

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

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.