Florida Hurricane Sally
Incident Period: Sep 14, 2020 - Sep 28, 2020
Declaration Date: Sep 23, 2020
Quick Links
- Recovery resources: State & Local | National
- Connect: Social Media | Mobile App & Text
- 24/7 counseling: Disaster Distress Helpline
On This Page
More About This Disaster
Now Closed: Period to Apply for Disaster Assistance
The last day for individuals and families to apply for assistance after this disaster has passed. You are no longer able to begin a new claim.
To check the status on a previously submitted claim, visit DisasterAssistance.gov.
I Was Told to Call the U.S. Small Business Administration
FEMA is not allowed to provide disaster assistance for certain losses covered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans. The SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to individuals and households to help with disaster losses. FEMA works with the SBA to determine if you may qualify for Personal Property Assistance, Transportation Assistance, or a Group Flood Insurance Policy.
FEMA will automatically refer you to the SBA to be considered for a disaster loan if you meet SBA’s income standards. FEMA uses your household annual gross income and number of dependents to determine if you should be referred to the SBA.
If you are referred to the SBA, FEMA will contact you via an auto-dialer system to explain how to apply for a disaster loan. You must complete and return a loan application to be considered for an SBA loan or certain types of FEMA assistance. You do not have to accept an SBA loan offer. However, if you are approved for an SBA loan, and you do not accept it, you will not be referred back to FEMA for personal property or transportation assistance.
For more information about the SBA disaster loan program, please call the SBA at 800-659-2955 (TTY: 800-877-8339). SBA information is also available at www.SBA.gov/disaster or by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Learn more about SBA loans
I Applied for Assistance. What's Next?
If You Have Insurance
Please contact your insurance company as soon as possible to file a claim. FEMA can only provide money after you get your insurance settlement. If your insurance doesn’t cover all of your home repair or rebuilding expenses, FEMA may be able to help.
FEMA can’t provide money for expenses covered by insurance or duplicate benefits from another source. When you get your insurance settlement or denial, please send a copy to FEMA as soon as you can.
If your insurance settlement is delayed more than 30 days from the time you file your claim, call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.
Learn more about the steps after applying
If You Do Not Have Insurance
FEMA will verify your disaster-caused losses. The agency will schedule a time to inspect your home if you reported damage to your home or personal property. Or FEMA will ask you to send documents to verify your expenses.
You will receive notification letters from FEMA either by mail or electronic correspondence explaining your next steps. If necessary based on the losses you reported, an inspector will contact you by phone to schedule an inspection. If you miss the call, they will leave a voicemail message and make multiple attempts to reach you. The inspector should not need to view repair receipts or pictures of the damage. But if you begin cleaning up before the inspection, FEMA suggests you take pictures, make a list of your losses, and keep receipts for all of your disaster-caused expenses.
Find a Housing Counselor
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides support to a nationwide network of housing counseling agencies (HCAs) and certified counselors. HUD-participating HCAs are approved and trained to provide tools to current and prospective homeowners and renters so they can make responsible choices to address their housing needs in light of their financial situations.
Verifying Home Ownership or Occupancy
FEMA is required to verify you lived at the address in your application as your primary residence before providing most types of assistance. FEMA is also required to verify you owned your home before providing home repair or home replacement assistance. Learn more about this process.
As part of our effort to make the disaster assistance process quicker and reduce the burden on applicants, we try to verify occupancy and ownership by using an automated public records search.
If we cannot verify you lived in or owned the home that you listed on your application, we will ask you to provide documents to prove occupancy and/or ownership to help us determine if you are approved for assistance.
How Do I Appeal the Decision?
If you receive a letter stating that you are not approved for assistance or that your application is incomplete, you can still complete the application or appeal the decision within 60 days of receiving a decision letter. The letter would either be mailed to you or placed into your Disaster Assistance Center account, if you have set up an account.
Learn more about appeals
Frequently Asked Questions and Rumors
Learn more about common disaster-related rumors and how to report fraud. You can also get answers to frequently asked questions about emergency shelters, disaster assistance, flood insurance and more.
Multilingual Resources
You can find social media graphics with important safety messaging in various languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.
We also have videos in American Sign Language (ASL) on topics including:
How to Help
Volunteer and Donate
Recovery can take many years after a disaster. There are many ways to help such as donating cash, needed items or your time. Learn more about how to help those in need.
Don’t self-deploy to disaster areas. Trusted organizations in the affected areas know where volunteers are needed. Work with an established organization to make sure you have the appropriate safety, training and skills needed to respond.
FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons (VALs) support the significant contributions of voluntary, faith-based, and community stakeholders active in disaster by building relationships – and coordinating efforts – with and across partner organizations and government agencies.
Doing Business with FEMA
If you are interested in providing paid services and goods for disaster relief, visit our Doing Business with FEMA page to get started.
If you own a business involved with debris removal and want to work on clean-up efforts in affected areas, please contact the local government in affected areas to offer your services.
Local Resources
Local Information
Local News & Media
Visit the News & Media page for events, fact sheets, press releases and other multimedia resources.
Additional Resources
- Florida State and Local Referral
- National Referral
- Visit the Florida state page for more localized information
KEY MESSAGES
Hurricane Sally Florida Recovery Resources & Information Portal
After the immediate response to a disaster, the focus of disaster operations shifts to recovery. FEMA Interagency Recovery Coordination (IRC) helps communities plan long-term recovery and provides resources to help them build capacity.
Recovery after a disaster presents complex challenges that require coordination among federal, state, local, private and non-governmental partners. IRC helps communities develop strategies to recover from the economic, social and other impacts of Hurricane Sally.
IRC has developed the Hurricane Sally IRC Recovery Resources & Information Portal for important updates and guidance, grant opportunities, fast-track webinars, resources, links and much more. To access the portal, please sign in as a guest here: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/dr4564sally/.
Click here to be added to the IRC Hurricane Sally email list. Click here to be removed from this email list.
How to check status of your FEMA application
Survivors in Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties who registered with FEMA can check the status of their applications, ask questions and get information in several ways:
- By visiting DisasterAssistance.gov
- Using the FEMA App for mobile devices
- Calling 800-621-3362 (800-462-7585 TTY). Multilingual operators are available. Those who use a relay service such as a videophone, InnoCaption or CapTel should provide FEMA with their specific phone number assigned to that service.
DisasterAssistance.gov
Individuals and households that have registered with FEMA may check the status of their application and upload documents on DisasterAssistance.gov.
FEMA Public Assistance (PA)
Under the major disaster declaration, FEMA is authorized to provide Public Assistance for debris removal, emergency measures and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged public facilities such as roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities and parks for the following counties:
- Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington.
For guidance on debris removal processes, residents should contact their local government.
Resources
- Florida 211: The call goes to local helpline call centers that have counselors for disaster recovery and can provide information on access to local resources such as housing, food and health care. Dial: 211
- Florida Division of Consumer Services provides information for residents with insurance questions: https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/HurricaneSally.htm
- Florida Department of Businesses and Professional Regulation (DBPR) offers tips for hurricane recovery at http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/documents/HurricaneGuide_web.pdf
- DBPR tips for avoiding unlicensed contractors following a storm: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/unlicensed-activity/dbpr-hurricane-guide/
- Disaster Legal Services provides free legal help to low-income Hurricane Sally survivors with disaster-related legal needs. Call 866-550-2929.
For more information about Hurricane Sally recovery in Florida, visit the FEMA disaster webpage at https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4564 or the Florida Division of Emergency Management webpage at https://www.floridadisaster.org/info/Sally.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. Civil rights complaints in connection with FEMA-funded activities may be submitted by mail to FEMA Office of Equal Rights, C Street SW, Room 4SW-0915, Washington, DC 20472-3505, by email to FEMA-CivilRightsOffice@fema.dhs.gov, or by calling 833-285-7448 (TTY 800-462-7585).
Recovery
- The State of Florida and FEMA remind residents planning to rebuild after Hurricane Sally to consult with their community’s building or planning department first to see if permits are necessary before work can start. Do not rely solely on the contractor’s opinion as to whether permits are required. To find local building contacts, go to https://www.stateofflorida.com/cities/ if you live in a municipality or https://www.stateofflorida.com/florida-counties/ if you live in an unincorporated area.
- Contractors should be licensed and insured. The State of Florida provides residents the ability to look up contractor licensing information online at https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp
- For a video on making your roof wind-resistant, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8PhTekho3s.
Voluntary
Recovery will take many years after a disaster. Cash is the best way to help those in need.
Find a reputable organization through the National Voluntary Organizations Active in a Disaster (NVOAD) website.
Doing Business With FEMA
If you are interested in providing paid services and goods for Hurricane Sally relief, follow the steps on our Doing Business with FEMA page to get started.
After you register
After you apply for federal disaster assistance, it is important that FEMA be able to contact you. Be aware that phone calls from FEMA may appear to come from unidentified numbers and make sure that FEMA has your current contact information. FEMA may call to obtain more information for your application or to conduct a remote home inspection in order to be able to continue processing your application.
Applicants for FEMA assistance will receive a letter from FEMA by mail or email. It is important to read it carefully because it will include the amount of any assistance FEMA may provide to you and information on the appropriate use of disaster assistance funds. You may need to submit additional information for FEMA to continue to process your application. If you have questions about the letter, go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY).
After you apply for disaster assistance from FEMA, you may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). It is important to submit a disaster loan application as soon as possible. If your application is approved, you are not obligated to accept an SBA loan. But failure to return the application will disqualify you from other possible FEMA assistance, such as disaster-related car repairs, clothing, household items and other expenses.
Help After A Disaster
I Applied For Assistance. What's Next?
You will receive notification letters from FEMA either by U.S. mail or by electronic correspondence. You may need to verify your identity or complete a home inspection.
Learn About the Steps After Applying | Steps To Start Your Recovery Process
"Help After a Disaster" Brochures
Translated into 27 languages, the "Help After a Disaster" brochure is a tool that can be shared in your community to help people understand the types of FEMA Individual Assistance support that may be available in disaster recovery.
Determination Letter
Read the determination letter carefully to identify the reason for being declared ineligible.
Determination/Appeals | Myth/Facts
News and Information In Other Languages
How to Help
Volunteer and Donate
Recovery can take many years after a disaster. There are many ways to help such as donating cash, needed items or your time. Learn more about how to help those in need.
Don’t self-deploy to disaster areas. Trusted organizations in the affected areas know where volunteers are needed. Work with an established organization to make sure you have the appropriate safety, training and skills needed to respond.
FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons (VALs) build relationships and coordinate efforts with voluntary, faith-based and community organizations active in disasters.
Doing Business with FEMA
If you are interested in providing paid services and goods for disaster relief, visit our Doing Business with FEMA page to get started.
If you own a business involved with debris removal and want to work on clean-up efforts in affected areas, please contact the local government in affected areas to offer your services.
Funding Obligations
| Individual Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Housing Assistance (HA) - Dollars Approved | $29,679,108.25 |
| Total Other Needs Assistance (ONA) - Dollars Approved | $8,008,958.02 |
| Total Individual & Households Program Dollars Approved | $37,688,066.27 |
| Individual Assistance Applications Approved | 8558 |
| Public Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Emergency Work (Categories A-B) - Dollars Obligated | $112,132,402.68 |
| Permanent Work (Categories C-G) - Dollars Obligated | $62,745,415.73 |
| Total Public Assistance Grants Dollars Obligated | $183,711,271.32 |
| Hazard Mitigation Assistance | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) - Dollars Obligated | $36,400,262.38 |