Recovery Update: Disaster Aid Tops $20.6 Million in St. John Parish

BATON ROUGE, La. – Three weeks since the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved more than $121 million in disaster assistance for Louisiana. Disaster assistance for survivors in St. John Parish now tops $20.6 million.                                 

ST. JOHN PARISH BY THE NUMBERS

Number of survivors who registered for assistance with FEMA: 12,007

Amount of Housing Assistance approved: $17,972,028

Amount of Other Needs Assistance approved: $2,700,540

TOTAL Amount of Individual Assistance: $20,672,568

TIMELINE

Aug. 27 – President Obama issued an Emergency Declaration in Louisiana, in advance of Hurricane Isaac, for emergency protective measures (Category B), limited to direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance program.

Aug. 29 – President Obama issued a Federal Disaster Declaration for 35 parishes in Louisiana, including St. John. The declaration made Public Assistance (PA) funds available for reimbursement of debris removal and emergency protective measures (Category A & B), including direct federal assistance. PA is now available in 55 parishes, which includes 52 parishes for Category A & B and three parishes for Category B only.

Aug. 29 – The federal disaster declaration also made all parishes in the state eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

Aug. 31 – An amendment designated five parishes in Louisiana, including St. John, eligible for Individual Assistance (IA). With subsequent amendments, IA is now available in 21 parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington and West Feliciana.

Sept. 1 – A Disaster Recovery Center is open in St. John Parish at 1931 W. Airline Hwy. in LaPlace. Current hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. To date, 2,775 people have visited the recovery center. For a list of center locations, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4080.

Survivors in St. John Parish affected by Hurricane Isaac can apply for disaster assistance online at www.disasterassistance.gov or m.fema.gov with a smartphone. They can also apply by phone by calling 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Survivors who use 711 Relay or Video Relay Services may call 800-621-3362.

Disaster assistance for individuals may include grants to help pay for temporary housing and emergency home repairs to make a home habitable. Survivors could also be eligible for grants for serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

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.

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.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of funding for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).