Three Weeks Left to Register for Disaster Assistance

NEW YORK – The Jan. 28 deadline is approaching for Hurricane Sandy survivors in 13 designated New York counties to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance.

FEMA

Federal disaster assistance for individuals and families can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

Nearly 261,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for help or information and more than $827 million in total individual assistance grants has been approved.

The deadline affects Sandy survivors living in counties designated for individual assistance: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.

Ways to register with FEMA:

• Register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Via smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov.
• Call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585.
• For 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) call 800-621-3362.
• The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

The U.S. Small Business Administration

Survivors who have registered with FEMA and received a loan application from the SBA are urged to complete and return it. The information could lead to other FEMA help. No one is required to accept a loan.

SBA has approved more than $420 million in loans for homes and businesses.

The deadline to return the SBA application is Jan. 28, the same as the deadline for registering with FEMA.

SBA assistance includes:

• Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate or personal property. Renters are eligible for personal property losses, including automobiles.
• Business Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size may apply. Certain private, non-profit organizations may also be eligible.
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, nonprofit organizations meet their ordinary financial obligations that cannot be met because of the disaster. The deadline for economic injury loan applications is July 31. 

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, http://twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.