State, Federal Disaster Assistance Still Available to All Eligible Oklahomans

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans, including those who are not U.S. citizens, may be eligible through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for assistance if affected by the recent tornadoes, severe storms and flooding.

Disaster assistance is available to homeowners, renters and businesses impacted by the May 5 through June 4 storms in 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 counties.

The aid is available to citizens, non-citizen nationals, and qualified aliens. Qualified aliens include those with legal permanent residence (shown by Green Cards). Their status will not be jeopardized by requesting disaster assistance.

A parent or guardian who isn’t eligible may register for assistance on behalf of a child under age 18 who is a citizen, non-citizen national or qualified alien. No information will be gathered on the adult’s status.

When registering for disaster assistance, FEMA requires applicants to certify whether they are citizens, non-citizen nationals or qualified aliens.

The status of a qualified alien includes:

• Legal permanent residents (those with Green Cards);
• Those with refugee or asylum status;
• Those whose deportation has been withheld;
• Those on parole into the U.S. for at least one year for humanitarian purposes;
• Those with conditional entry;
• Those who are Cuban-Haitian entrants; and
• Those with petitions for relief based on battery or extreme cruelty by a family member.

FEMA conducts random audits of applications to verify U.S. citizenship and qualified alien documentation issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. However, assistance can be given as long as someone in the household is entitled to it, and no information will be gathered regarding the status of others in the household.

Undocumented immigrants from a household with no one eligible for cash assistance from FEMA may still be eligible for programs run by state, local or volunteer agencies.

Assistance for eligible individuals and small businesses includes funds for temporary housing and necessary home repairs, individual and household grants, disaster unemployment assistance, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration and other programs.

Residents living within the designated counties with damage from the disaster can register by calling the FEMA Helpline line at 800-621-3362. The Helpline is open from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week. Multilingual assistance is available.

For those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, use the TTY number at 800-462-7585. Applicants can also register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or with any web-enabled mobile device or smartphone at m.fema.gov. Follow the link to “apply online for federal assistance.”

Multilingual assistance is available at each of the Disaster Recovery Centers. DRCs are one-stop shops where survivors can get information and guidance on the disaster assistance that may be available. To find the recovery center near you visit http://asd.fema.gov/inter/locator/home.htm, or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4222 or visit OEM 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 service 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.