More Than $1 Million in Federal Assistance Distributed to Nov. 2-11 Flooding Survivors
Release Date: December 28, 2006
Release Number: 1671-011
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LACEY, Wash. -- To date, $1,120,895 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster recovery assistance has been disbursed to survivors of the Nov. 2-11 flooding. Currently, 1,029 people have applied for FEMA assistance by calling the toll-free registration number 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech or hearing impaired.
“The recovery process for survivors of the November floods begins by calling FEMA’s registration number, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week,” said Libby Turner, federal coordinating officer.
Due to the Nov. 2-11 floods, President Bush authorized a federal disaster declaration on Dec. 12 for 11 Washington counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston and Wahkiakum. The declaration provides individual assistance to those county residents, including grants for uninsured or underinsured housing repairs and assistance for rent and other needs.
Along with FEMA grants, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of any size and private nonprofit organizations.
SBA loans of up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace primary residences. Homeowners and renters may apply for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property losses. Loans of up to $1.5 million are available to businesses to repair or replace property losses. For small businesses, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. For information about SBA disaster assistance, call 1-800-659-2955 or visit www.sba.gov.
Information about assistance is also available by calling the State of Washington’s “November Floods Helpline,” 1-800-688-3469. State representatives are ready to answer specific and general questions about the Nov. 2-11 flood damages.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident, initiates mitigation activities and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA works closely with State and local emergency managers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, and other first responders. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 28-Dec-2006 15:07:40