One Month Left to Apply for FEMA Assistance
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – One month after the federal disaster declaration for Tropical Storm Fred, $10.3 million in federal funds has been provided to North Carolinians to aid in their recovery. Survivors who still need to apply for FEMA assistance have until Nov. 8, 2021 to do so.
Help for survivors in Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania includes grants from FEMA, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and claims payments from the National Flood Insurance Program.
As of Oct. 6, FEMA has approved $2.39 million in FEMA Individual Assistance for homeowners and renters. That includes $2.07 million for housing assistance and $321,344 for other disaster-related needs.
SBA has approved $774,100 for homeowners, renters and businesses impacted by the disaster.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $7.4 million in claims by policyholders.
Since the major disaster declaration Sept. 8, FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams have canvassed neighborhoods and interacted with 1,551 individuals to help them apply for assistance and to provide referrals to other resources.
“Much work still lies ahead for Western North Carolina, and we want to help all North Carolinians recover quickly and rebuild in a more resilient manner,” said N.C. Emergency Management Director William Ray. “Every impacted resident should make sure they apply with both FEMA and the SBA in order to access available assistance that they need.”
“We are working with the state and the communities to provide all the assistance we can,” said Federal Coordinating Officer John Boyle. “We’ll be here as long as necessary to get the job done.”
Registration is free. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-3362, or use the FEMA mobile app. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time, seven days a week.
FEMA is working with state and local authorities on requests for Public Assistance grants for emergency response and restoration of damaged public facilities in Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Madison, Mitchell, Transylvania, Yancey and Watauga counties.
For more information about Tropical Storm Fred recovery in North Carolina, visit fema.gov/disaster/4617 and ncdps.gov/TSFred. Follow us on Twitter: @NCEmergency and @FEMARegion4.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.