DES MOINES, Iowa – These are the last few days that FEMA will take registrations from survivors of the March 12 to June 15 storms and floods to determine eligibility for federal disaster assistance. The cutoff date is Monday, July 1.
Affected residents of the designated counties – Fremont, Harrison, Louisa, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, Scott, Shelby and Woodbury – who register directly with FEMA make themselves eligible to receive grants to pay for temporary housing and minor home repairs; to replace personal property, including clothing; and to pay for serious immediate needs not covered by insurance.
By registering with FEMA, many applicants may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) which may provide low-interest loans to businesses, homeowners and renters. The SBA loans are particularly attractive to survivors who need to access larger sums of money than FEMA can provide.
To register with FEMA before the Monday, July 1 deadline:
- Go online to www.disasterassistance.gov.
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Phone lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are on duty.
- Use FEMA’s disaster app on your smartphone. If you haven’t downloaded the app yet, you can go to www.fema.gov/mobile-app.
To apply to SBA before its July 1 deadline:
- Call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955.
- Email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
- Visit www.sba.gov/disaster.
- Apply online via the Electronic Loan Application on SBA’s secure website at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
The Iowa Department of Human Rights can provide information on resources for people with disabilities. Call 515-242-5655 or go online at https://humanrights.Iowa.gov.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has faced discrimination or needs help with accessible communication, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available.