California Freeze Disaster Assistance Deadline Approaches
Release Date: August 2, 1999
Release Number: 1267-23
» More Information on California Severe Freeze
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Victims of the December freeze disaster facing property foreclosure or eviction from their California homes have until Monday, August 9, 1999 to register for help, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES).
Mortgage and Rental Assistance (MRA) was one of several relief programs activated following President Clinton's February 9 disaster declaration. MRA's goal is to prevent the eviction of homeowners or renters because of income or job loss resulting from disasters. Temporary-housing assistance also is available for persons displaced from their homes because of the freeze.
Eight counties have been designated as freeze disaster areas: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Monterey, Tulare and Ventura.
More than 6,000 individuals have registered with FEMA for mortgage and rental help. To date, over $6.9 million have been provided to eligible MRA applicants.
People with foreclosure or eviction difficulties because of the severe freeze of December 20-28, 1998, and who live or work in any of the designated counties, are encouraged to register for help by calling, toll-free: 1-800-745-0243 (TTY, 1-800-462-7585, for those with speech or hearing impairments). The lines are open from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., California time. Multilingual FEMA representatives are available to assist in Spanish and other non-English languages.
Last Modified: Thursday, 18-Dec-2003 10:41:22