Texas Storm Survivors Should ‘Stay in Touch’ with FEMA

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas homeowners and renters who have registered for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are encouraged by recovery officials to “stay in touch,” even after the Jan. 25 application deadline.

Applicants changing their addresses or phone numbers should update that information with FEMA. Missing or erroneous information could result in delays getting a home inspection or in receiving assistance.

FEMA has provided two ways for homeowners and renters to update their information:

• Log on to the FEMA website at DisasterAssistance.gov to upload documents, and
• Call the toll-free FEMA Helpline (voice, 711 or relay service) at 800-621-3362. TTY users should call 800-462-7585. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

When updating status information, callers should refer to the nine-digit number issued at registration. This number is on all correspondence applicants receive from FEMA and is a key identifier in tracking assistance requests.

For more information on Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4245, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

###

All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

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. 

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.