Survivors of Tropical Storm Debby May Qualify for FEMA Rental Assistance

TALLAHASSEE, FL – July 18, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — While survivors finish repairs to their homes or find a new place to live, money may be available to help them pay for a clean and safe place to stay.

Survivors who have been staying with friends or relatives because their homes were damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Debby may qualify for temporary rental assistance.

Florida survivors living in a county designated for Individual Assistance may be eligible for federal disaster aid. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot duplicate insurance benefits.

Eligible residents may receive an initial two months of rental assistance. In order to obtain help, survivors must first register with FEMA.

Survivors living in a county designated for Individual Assistance can register with FEMA by one of the following methods:

• Call 800-621-FEMA (3362). Help is available in most languages and lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585.
• Go online to www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• By smartphone or tablet, use the FEMA app or go to m.fema.gov.

For long-term rebuilding, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are also available to help with residential and business losses not covered by insurance. Survivors and businesses may obtain information on SBA disaster loan applications by calling 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people who are deaf or hard of hearing) or online at www.sba.gov. They may also apply for disaster loans at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

For more information on Florida’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov or www.floridadisaster.org. On Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/FloridaSERT. To receive Twitter updates: www.twitter.com/FLSERT or www.twitter.com/femaregion4.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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 been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). If you have a speech disability or hearing loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.