FEMA helpline offers many services to Sandy survivors in New York

NEW YORK – Hurricane Sandy survivors who have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance can take advantage of the many services available through the FEMA helpline, 800-621-3362 (Voice, 7-1-1/Relay) or (TTY) 800-462-7585.

Survivors can check the status of their applications, update contact information, and learn how their insurance affects FEMA assistance.

Survivors also can call the helpline to:

• Update insurance information
• Receive information on the home inspection process
• Add or remove the name of a person designated to speak for the applicant
• Find out if FEMA needs more information about their claim
• Update FEMA on the applicant’s housing situation
• Learn how to appeal a FEMA application decision
• Get answers to other questions they might have about their application

Helpline hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available. Survivors can also visit DisasterAssistance.gov or m.fema.gov.

The deadline to register for possible disaster assistance is March 29, 2013. FEMA offers financial help to eligible survivors of federally-declared disasters to cover uninsured losses and critical expenses that are not covered by other means.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit FEMA.gov/SandyNY, Twitter.com/FEMASandy, Facebook.com/FEMASandy and FEMA.gov/blog.