SIKESTON – When it comes to federal flood assistance, it is better to apply now and later find it wasn’t needed than to not apply and find out too late that it was.
For homeowners and renters who live within counties declared eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, “the important thing at this point is people should register if they’ve had any damage at all,” said Jack Heesch, public affairs officer for FEMA. “Register with FEMA even if you don’t think you have much damage.”
If the damage turns out not to be severe enough for aid, he said, there is no harm in having registered. People often find they have more damage than they initially thought, however, and there is a deadline for registering for FEMA assistance, Heesch said.
“It’s normally 60 days from the date of the declaration,” he said. “We encourage everybody to do it now — don’t wait.”
FEMA assistance may be available for those who are insured, underinsured and even the uninsured, according to Heesch.
He explained there is a big difference between FEMA’s assistance and insurance claims.
“Insurance helps you rebuild your home, get it back to its former condition,” Heesch said. “FEMA assistance helps you get your house back to where it is safe and habitable. We’re not going to get it back to pre-disaster condition; your insurance is for that.”
Heesch said in addition to assisting with damage to a home’s structure, FEMA may be able to assist individuals with the loss of a home’s contents including items such as prescription medication and eye glasses and even essential furnishings.
FEMA, for example, may provide chairs and a table so an individual can serve dinner to their family, “but it may not be the gorgeous oak dining room set you used to have,” he said.
Heesch said the Small Business Administration also works as a partner with FEMA in providing disaster recovery relief by offering low-interest loans not only to businesses but also to individuals.
These loans are currently offered at 4 percent interest to businesses and at 3 percent to renters and homeowners, he said.
Heesch said as SBA officials “try to set the terms of the loan in a way that it is not too burdensome to repay it,” repayment on these loans may be stretched out over a period as long as 30 years.
The first step for those seeking FEMA assistance is to register by calling 800- 621-3362 or online at www.fema.gov.
During the registration, applicants need to submit information including the address of the damaged property or a legal description of its location; identification including a Social Security number; and insurance information such as the provider and if an insurance claim has been filed.
Applicants should also provide “a good way to get in touch with you because a lot of people, if they are not able to remain in their home, are not receiving their mail or able to receive phone calls,” Heesch said.
When the registration is completed, the applicant will be assigned a case number.
“It is important to know that case number. Every time you talk to FEMA you will be asked what your case number is,” Heesch said.
Within a day of the registration, the case is referred to a FEMA inspector who will contact the applicant and schedule an appointment to meet at the damaged property. “Inspections can be completed within two days of the referral,” Heesch said.
The inspector then files a report with FEMA so a determination can be made on how much grant assistance the applicant is eligible for.
If an individual is to receive grant assistance, FEMA prefers to disburse it through a direct deposit as the money can be there within a few days, Heesch said. He added that in addition to being faster, this method is also preferred because in some cases the recipient may not even have postal delivery service.
Heesch said as of Tuesday evening, FEMA had received 2,411 registrations in the 35 counties declared eligible for individual assistance.
A total of $6.1 million has been approved for individual and household assistance of which $5.8 million already disbursed, he said. There have been 68 registrations in Scott County.
Heesch said these figures just apply to homeowners and renters and do not include assistance provided to businesses or public entities.
“To my knowledge there has not be a request by New Madrid to be evaluated for individual assistance,” he said.
FEMA officials are scheduled to tour Mississippi County today for a preliminary damage assessment for individuals, according to Mississippi County Clerk Junior DeLay.
“I saw a lot of homes there that clearly had a lot of water in and around them,” Heesch said.
47 counties declared disasters
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today announced President Bush has approved his request for Disaster Declarations for Public Assistance for 47 Missouri Counties as a result of the March flooding.
The 47 counties approved for a Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance are: Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Butler, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cedar, Christian, Crawford, Dallas, Dent, Franklin, Gasconade, Howard, Howell, Iron, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Madison, Maries, Miller, Mississippi, Montgomery, New Madrid, Newton, Oregon, Osage, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Pulaski, Reynolds, Ripley, St. Clair, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Washington, Wayne, Webster and Wright.
