Frequently Asked Questions About Disasters

FEMA Home Repair Assistance is money to repair your primary home that you own and live in if it was damaged by a disaster and not covered by insurance or other means. The amount of assistance provided is based on damage verified by FEMA during inspection. Home Repair Assistance is limited and is intended to make the home livable; it is not intended to fully restore the home to its pre-disaster condition.

To be eligible for Home Repair Assistance, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen or be the parent or guardian of a qualified minor that is part of the household.
• FEMA must be able to verify your identity.
• Your insurance, or other forms of disaster assistance received, cannot meet your disaster-caused needs.
• You must also be a homeowner whose primary residence was made unlivable by the disaster.
• Your home must be in the declared disaster area.

To be eligible for Home Repair Assistance, FEMA must be able to verify that you owned and lived in your home as your primary residence at the time of the disaster.

FEMA typically verifies homeownership and occupancy through an automated public records search conducted at the time of registration. If FEMA is unable to verify this information via automated records search or other methods, you may be asked to submit documentation to verify your ownership and occupancy status.

By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits provided by insurance. If you have applicable insurance, you must submit your insurance settlement or denial to FEMA before being considered for Home Repair Assistance.

FEMA may be able to provide assistance with well decontamination. You may contact your local health department or obtain proof of the contamination and submit it to FEMA for consideration of financial assistance.

Services will vary by shelter. During a disaster or emergency, services at emergency shelters may include:

• A safe place to weather a hazard
• Meals, snacks and water
• Restrooms
• Blankets
• Basic first aid

As disasters progress, additional services may become available such as:

• Sleep accommodations
• Health services (for disaster-related conditions), such as refilling lost prescriptions or replacing lost eyeglasses
• Emotional support and mental health services
• Spiritual care
• Help reconnecting with loved ones
• Information about disaster-related resources in the community. You can also access these services even if you don’t need a place to sleep—anyone with a disaster-related need can visit the shelter to be directed to the appropriate resources.  During some emergencies, we may also be able to provide other important services, such as:
  • Childcare
  • Laundry
  • Direct access to services provided by our partners

The major disaster declaration process begins when a state Governor or Tribal Chief Executive declares a state of emergency and requests federal assistance.  The Governor or Tribal Chief Executive submits a request to the President, who has the authority to declare a major disaster with federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure.

If your county, municipality, or parish is not included in the initial declaration, continue to monitor as it may be added later.

If your location is not currently in a federally declared area, you may still be able to apply online now. The online application system will let you proceed if early registration is open for your state or county. Your application will be processed if your county is added to an active declaration. 

You may also contact your state emergency management office to report your damage.  For emergency needs, you may contact your local American Red Cross chapter. 

Through the Individuals and Households Program, FEMA may provide the following assistance for eligible expenses and losses that are not covered by insurance or any other source.

The following list includes the different types of assistance FEMA is authorized to offer through the state-requested disaster declaration process. The type of assistance available is dependent on the request from the state.

• Lodging Expense Reimbursement: Money to reimburse for hotels, motels, or other short-term lodging if you are temporarily displaced by the disaster.
• Rental Assistance: Money to rent alternate housing accommodations if you are displaced from your home because of the disaster.
• Home Repair/Replacement Assistance: If you are a homeowner and lived in the home at the time of the disaster, money to repair your disaster damaged primary residence, utilities, and residential infrastructure, or to help replace your primary residence when the residence is destroyed. If you were affected by a disaster declared on or after March 22, 2024, the money can also help with fixing areas of your home damaged by the disaster even if there was a pre-existing condition in that part of the home.
• Accessibility Needs: Money to help survivors with a disability with specific repairs that make their home accessible (such as exterior ramp, grab bars, and paved path to the home entrance). Repairs can be made when these items are damaged. Improvements can be made when those features were not present prior to the disaster and are needed due to a pre-existing disability or a disability caused by the disaster.
• Privately-owned Roads, Bridges, Docks: Money for survivors whose only access to their home has been damaged by the disaster.
• Direct Temporary Housing Assistance: Direct assistance that FEMA may deliver through providing Temporary Housing Units, Multi-Family Lease and Repair, or Direct Lease.
• Displacement Assistance: For disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, money to help with immediate housing needs if you cannot return to your home because of the disaster. The money can be used to stay in a hotel, with family and friends, or other options while you look for a rental unit.
• Personal Property Assistance: Money to help you repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a computer damaged by the disaster. This can also include money for books, uniforms, tools, additional computers and other items required for school or work, including self-employment.
• Transportation Assistance: Money for your vehicle damaged by the disaster when you do not have another vehicle you can use. Unlike most other forms of the Individuals and Households Program assistance, an applicant does not need to live in the Presidentially declared disaster area to be considered for this assistance.
• Medical and Dental Assistance: Money to help you pay for expenses because the disaster caused an injury or illness. This money can also be used to help replace medical/dental equipment, breastfeeding equipment, damaged or lost prescribed medicine, or loss/injury of a service animal.
• Funeral Assistance: Money to help you pay for funeral or reburial expenses caused by the disaster.
• Child Care Assistance: Money for new or increased disaster-caused child care expenses.
• Moving and Storage Expenses: Money to help you move and store personal property from your home to prevent additional damage, typically used while you are making repairs to your home or moving to a new place due to the disaster.
• Assistance for Miscellaneous Items: Money for certain eligible items (such as a generator, dehumidifier, chainsaw, etc.) you purchased or rented after the disaster to assist with recovery.
• Group Flood Insurance Policy: If your home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area and you have flood damage caused by the disaster, FEMA may purchase a Group Flood Insurance Policy on your behalf that gives you three years of coverage.
• Clean and Sanitize Assistance: Money to help you pay for very minor damage caused by the disaster to prevent additional loss and potential health or safety concerns. This money is only available in certain disasters if you had property damage but were not eligible for Home Repair or Replacement Assistance because FEMA determined you could still live safely in your home.
• Critical Needs Assistance: For disasters declared before March 22, 2024, money to help you pay for immediate needs such as water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding equipment, diapers, personal hygiene items, and fuels for transportation. *Critical Needs Assistance is not available in all disasters.
• Serious Needs Assistance: For disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, money to help you pay for immediate needs such as water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding equipment, diapers, personal hygiene items, and fuels for transportation. *Serious Needs Assistance is available in all disasters, but you must meet eligibility requirements.

FEMA home inspections help determine whether a home is safe, sanitary, and livable, and to verify disaster-caused damage. Specifically, the FEMA inspector will:

• Verify your name, address, contact information, and insurance;
• Confirm the individuals living in your disaster-damaged residence; bedrooms occupied; clothing, medical, dental, transportation, or miscellaneous losses; and items you purchased as a result of the disaster (e.g., chainsaw, dehumidifier);
• Assess your pre-disaster residence’s structure, furniture, and appliances for damage caused by the disaster, as well as undamaged items;
• Document your pre-disaster residence’s square footage, foundation, and structural type (e.g., one or multiple stories). Record the cause of damage, applicable water levels, impacted utilities, and accessibility features; and
• Confirm with you all damage has been viewed, and describe next steps in the FEMA process.

Not all losses require an inspection. You should also monitor your mail or your FEMA Online Account (http://www.disasterassistance.gov) and respond to any requests from FEMA for additional information quickly.

Many times, an application is determined to be “not approved” because of a missing document. Examples include:

• Copy of your insurance settlement pertaining to disaster-caused damage.
• Proof of identity
• Proof of occupancy
• Proof of ownership
• Proof the damaged property was your primary residence when the disaster occurred.

FEMA informs all applicants who are not approved via letter. Please read the letter carefully and submit any additional required information as instructed by the letter. The letter will provide details on the documents that FEMA accepts.

If you have questions about FEMA letters, you may go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.

After applying, you may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for an SBA disaster assistance loan as part of the disaster assistance process.

FEMA works with SBA if you have additional unmet needs. Loans may help with home repair or replacement, personal property, vehicles, mitigation, business losses, and working capital for small business and most private nonprofits.

If you are approved for a loan, you are not obligated to accept it.

You can call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 if you have additional questions or need more information.

For questions 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.

If you were affected by a disaster declared before March 22, 2024, and are referred to the SBA, you must complete an SBA disaster loan application to be eligible for Personal Property Assistance, Transportation Assistance and/or Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP).

For disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, you may choose if you want to complete an SBA disaster loan application and it will not affect your eligibility for FEMA assistance.

Learn more about SBA disaster loans and how they connect with FEMA assistance.