FEMA Recovery Grants are for Disaster-Related Expenses

JACKSON, Miss. – As Mississippi disaster survivors receive FEMA checks or direct deposits to help them recover from the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding of April 28 through May 3, it is important to understand that there are limits on how the money can be spent.

Use of the money for other than eligible expenses could result in having to return funds back to FEMA.

FEMA does not provide survivors with an itemized list of eligible expenses tailored to their specific situation. But it does provide an important booklet, “Help After a Disaster,” that spells out the kinds of expenses authorized in the Individuals and Households Program.

The grant covers only repair or replacement of items that were damaged as a direct result of the disaster and were not covered by insurance. Repairs and rebuilding may not improve a home above its pre-disaster condition unless such improvements are required by current building codes.

Use of the money is limited to repairing the home so that it is safe and sanitary so survivors can live there. It will not be enough to return the home to its condition before the disaster.

The money can be spent to repair structural parts of the home such as foundation, outside walls and roof.

Survivors also may use FEMA assistance provided for housing needs to repair:

  • Windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings and cabinetry.
  • Septic or sewage systems.
  • Wells or other water system.
  • Heating, ventilating and air conditioning.
  • Utilities (electrical, plumbing and gas.)
  • Entrance and exit ways, including privately-owned access roads.
  • Blocking, leveling and anchoring of a mobile home and reconnecting or resetting its sewer, water, electrical and fuel lines and tanks.

Survivors also may receive money for “Other than Housing Needs.” This money is provided to repair damaged personal property or to pay for disaster-related expenses and serious needs, limited to items or services that help prevent or overcome a disaster-related hardship, injury or adverse condition. It does not pay to return or replace personal property to its condition before the disaster.

Examples of allowable Other than Housing Needs are disaster-related medical and dental costs, funeral and burial expenses, clothing, household items, heating fuel, disaster-specific clean-up items, a vehicle damaged by the disaster and moving and storage expenses.

Survivors should keep bills and receipts for three years to show how all of the FEMA grant money was spent. FEMA is authorized to do an audit.

Disaster survivors in Itawamba, Jones, Leake, Lee, Lowndes, Madison, Montgomery, Rankin, Simpson, Warren, Wayne and Winston counties may be eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program. The deadline to register is June 30, 2014.

Individuals and households in those counties can register for FEMA Individual Assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, via smartphone or tablet at m.FEMA.gov or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-FEMA (3362.) People who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY should call 800-462-7585. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (central time) and assistance is available in multiple languages.

For more information on Mississippi disaster recovery, go to FEMA.gov/Disaster/4175. Visit the MEMA site at msema.org or on Facebook at facebook.com/msemaorg.

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. 

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). If you have a speech disability or hearing loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

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FEMA Recovery Grants are for Disaster-Related Expenses

Okaloosa and Walton Residents Now Eligible for Disaster Assistance

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Survivors in Okaloosa and Walton counties whose homes were damaged during the recent storms, tornadoes and flooding in the Florida Panhandle are now eligible to apply for Individual Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Homeowners and renters in the two additional counties may now register with FEMA for assistance, and report their uninsured or underinsured property damage or destruction from the severe storms during the period of April 28 through May 6. Escambia and Santa Rosa counties were previously designated under the major disaster declaration.

Disaster assistance for uninsured and underinsured individuals may include:

• Money to help pay for temporary housing and emergency home repairs.

• Money for serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.

• Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Survivors can register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

 

Florida residents should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but under-insured applicants may receive help after their insurance claims have been settled.

Registering with FEMA is required for federal aid, even if the person has registered with another disaster-relief organization.

For more information on Florida disaster recovery, click fema.gov/disaster/4177. Visit the Florida Division of Emergency Management website at floridadisaster.org or Facebook page at facebook.com/FloridaSERT.

 

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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.

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 temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

Original article:

Okaloosa and Walton Residents Now Eligible for Disaster Assistance

Five More Alabama Counties Added for FEMA Individual Assistance

CLANTON, Ala. – Survivors in Blount, DeKalb, Etowah, Mobile and Tuscaloosa counties may now apply for federal disaster assistance, as they were added Thursday to the major disaster declaration for the recent tornadoes and flooding in Alabama.

Individuals and households in the five counties may now register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, and report their uninsured or underinsured property damage from the severe storms during the period of April 28 through May 5.

A total of nine counties have been designated for the Individual Assistance program. The other four counties are Baldwin, Jefferson, Lee and Limestone.

Disaster assistance for uninsured and underinsured individuals may include:

  • Money to help pay for temporary housing and emergency home repairs.
  • Money for serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.
  • Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Survivors can register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Alabama residents should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but under-insured applicants may receive help after their insurance claims have been settled.

Registering with FEMA is required for federal aid, even if the person has registered with another disaster-relief organization. FEMA registrants must use the name that appears on their Social Security card.

Applicants will be asked for the following information:

  • Social Security number
  • Address of the damaged home or apartment
  • Description of the damage
  • Information about insurance coverage
  • A current contact telephone number
  • An address where they can receive mail
  • Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.

For more information on Alabama disaster recovery, click fema.gov/disaster/4176. Visit the Alabama Emergency Management Agency website at ema.alabama.gov/ or Facebook page at facebook.com/AlabamaEMA.

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Five More Alabama Counties Added for FEMA Individual Assistance

Use FEMA Disaster Funds Wisely

WINDSOR, Conn. – As recovery from Hurricane Sandy progresses, survivors are receiving grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for getting their lives back together.

“It is important for survivors to use this money for their recovery,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Albert Lewis, who is in charge of the FEMA recovery effort in Connecticut.  “With the holidays approaching, don’t be tempted to use some of this money in ways it is not intended to be used. Don’t slow down your recovery; use this money wisely.”

Money from FEMA for housing or other needs assistance must be used for rent, home repair, personal property or other disaster-related expenses.

Disaster officials caution survivors who have received grants that FEMA can and does look at a survivor’s use of grant funds through audits, so it is essential all receipts for rent, materials, labor, etc., be kept in a safe place.

Survivors can register online anytime day or night at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or with a smartphone or web-enabled device at m.fema.gov. Survivors can also register by phone anytime by calling FEMA at 800-621-3362. The TTY number is 800-462-7585. Multilingual operators are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deadline to register is Dec. 31, 2012.

Registering for disaster assistance with other agencies or organizations does not register survivors for FEMA disaster assistance. Having FEMA flood insurance does not register policyholders for disaster assistance; flood insurance claims are handled separately.

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- 3362. For TTY, call 800-462-7585.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money 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 covers 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.

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.

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Use FEMA Disaster Funds Wisely