Published: September 19, 2008 11:12 am      

FEMA encourages Ike victims to sign up for assistance

Many of those left in the wake of Hurricane Ike after it slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast on Sept. 13 are probably wondering how they can get help to get on with their lives.

Dean Cushman, a FEMA public information officer, said 371,000 people have registered for assistance in the past 36 hours.

“We want everyone to file. They can call 1-800-621-FEMA or go to www.fema.gov,” Cushman said. “We encourage them to register online.”

However, if they use the phone, its on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We encourage them to call early in the morning or late at night because of call traffic during peak hours.

FEMA works with the state, Cushman said, but FEMA does not fund the programs since it is just a resource for the state.

We had FEMA personnel already in place from Hurricanes Gustav and Dolly, and FEMA can bring in a panoply of federal agencies and help the state, Cushman said.

Cushman also said if evacuees have insurance, they should contact their insurance company because FEMA cannot duplicate funds. He encouraged evacuees to register with FEMA anyway so they will have a back-up if there are no insurance funds.

David Paulison, FEMA administrator, announced Sept. 13 in a press release that federal disaster aid is available for the state of Texas and ordered federal aid to supplement state and loca recovery efforts.

The assistance to be coordinated by FEMA can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis in Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Jacinto and Tyler counties for debris removal including direct federal assistance.



Housing Needs

• Temporary Housing (a place to live for a limited period of time): Money is available to rent a different place to live, or a government provided housing unit when rental properties are not available. Search for information about housing rental resources.

• Repair: Money is available to homeowners to repair damage from the disaster to their primary residence that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the damaged home safe, sanitary and functional.

• Replacement: Money is available to homeowners to replace their home destroyed in the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to help the homeowner with the cost of replacing their destroyed home.

• Permanent Housing Construction: Direct assistance or money for the construction of a home. This type of help occurs only in insular areas or remote locations specified by FEMA, where no other type of housing assistance is possible.



Other than Housing Needs

Money is available for necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster. This includes:

• Disaster-related medical and dental costs.

• Disaster-related funeral and burial cost.

• Clothing; household items (room furnishings, appliances); tools (specialized or protective clothing and equipment) required for your job; necessary educational materials (computers, school books, supplies).

• Fuels for primary heat source (heating oil, gas).

• Clean-up items (wet/dry vacuum, dehumidifier).

• Disaster damaged vehicle.

• Moving and storage expenses related to the disaster (moving and storing property to avoid additional disaster damage while disaster-related repairs are being made to the home).

• Other necessary expenses or serious needs as determined by FEMA.

• Other expenses that are authorized by law.



Do I Qualify for "Housing Needs? Assistance?

To receive money or help for "Housing Needs" that are the result of a disaster, all of the following must be true:

• You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster by the president.

• You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property is not covered by your insurance or your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet your losses.

• You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien.

• The home in the disaster area is where you usually live and where you were living at the time of the disaster.

• You are not able to live in your home now, you cannot get to your home due to the disaster, or your home requires repairs because of damage from the disaster.

You may not be eligible for "Housing Needs" assistance if:

• You have other, adequate rent-free housing that you can use (for example, rental property that is not occupied).

• Your home that was damaged is your secondary or vacation residence.

• Your expenses resulted only from leaving your home as a precaution and you were able to return to your home immediately after the incident.

• You have refused assistance from your insurance provider(s).

• Your only losses are business losses (including farm business other than the farmhouse and self-employment) or items not covered by this program.

• The damaged home where you live is located in a designated flood hazard area and your community is not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. In this case, the flood damage to your home would not be covered, but you may qualify for rental assistance or items not covered by flood insurance, such as water wells, septic systems, medical, dental, or funeral expenses.

Do I qualify for "Other than Housing Needs" Assistance?

To receive money for "Other than Housing Needs" that are the result of a disaster, all the following must be true:

• You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the President.

• You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property is not covered by your insurance or your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet your losses.

• You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien.

• You have necessary expenses or serious needs because of the disaster.

• You have accepted assistance from all other sources for which you are eligible, such as insurance proceeds or Assistance for Affected Individuals and Families Can Include as Required:

• Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable. Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one month for renters. Assistance may be extended if requested after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements. (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)

• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional. (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)

• Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs. (Source: FEMA funded at 75 percent of total eligible costs; 25 percent funded by the state.)

• Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals. (Source: FEMA funded; state administered.)

• Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)

• Loans up to $2 million for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster's adverse economic impact. This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed a total of $2 million. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)

• Loans up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence. (Source: Farm Service Agency, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.)

• Other relief programs: Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; advisory assistance for legal, veterans benefits and social security matters. Assistance for the State and Affected Local Governments Can Include as Required:

• Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for removing debris from public areas. (Source: FEMA funded, state administered.)

• Payment of not more than 75 percent of the approved costs for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural or technological disasters. (Source: FEMA funded, state administered.)

How to Apply for Assistance:

• Those in the counties designated for assistance to affected residents and business owners can begin the disaster application process by registering online at http://www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers are available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time) Monday through Sunday until further notice. Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves (name, permanent address, and phone number), insurance coverage and any other information to help substantiate losses.

• Application procedures for local governments will be explained at a series of federal/state applicant briefings with locations to be announced in the affected area by recovery officials. Approved public repair projects are paid through the state from funding provided by FEMA and other participating federal agencies. Small Business Administration Disaster Loans The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can make federally subsidized loans to repair or replace homes, personal property or businesses that sustained damages not covered by insurance. The Small Business Administration can provide three types of disaster loans to qualified homeowners and businesses:

• home disaster loans to homeowners and renters to repair or replace disaster-related damages to home or personal property,

• business physical disaster loans to business owners to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including inventory, and supplies; and

• economic injury disaster loans, which provide capital to small businesses and to small agricultural cooperatives to assist them through the disaster recovery period.

Is Disaster Help Available if I Have Insurance?

Possibly. If you have not already contacted your insurance agent to file a claim, please do this as soon as possible. Failure to file a claim with your insurance company may affect your eligibility for assistance.

After filing a claim, if any of the following situations occur FEMA may be able to provide some assistance:

• Your insurance settlement is delayed. Delayed means a decision on your insurance settlement has been delayed longer than 30-days from the time you filed the claim. If a decision on your insurance settlement has been delayed, you will need to write a letter to FEMA explaining the circumstance. You should include documentation from the insurance company proving that you filed the claim. If you filed your claim over the telephone, you should include the claim number, date when you applied, and the estimated time of how long it will take to receive your settlement. Any help awarded to you by FEMA would be considered an advance and must be repaid to FEMA once an insurance settlement is received.

• Your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet your disaster-related needs. If you have received the maximum settlement from your insurance and still have an unmet disaster-related need, you will need to write a letter to FEMA indicating the unmet disaster-related need. You will also need to send in documentation from your insurance company for review.

• You have exhausted the Additional Living Expenses (ALE) provided by your insurance company. If you have received the maximum settlement from your insurance for Additional Living Expenses (Loss of Use) and still need help with your disaster-related temporary housing need, write a letter to FEMA indicating why you continue to have a temporary housing need. You will also need to provide documentation to prove use of ALE from insurance, and a permanent housing plan.

• You are unable to locate rental resources in your area. The FEMA Helpline has a list of rental resources in the disaster area. If no resources are available in your county, then the Helpline agent can provide you with resources in an adjacent county.

You have up to twelve months from the date you registered with FEMA to submit your insurance information for review. By law, we cannot provide money to individuals or households for losses that are covered by insurance.