More Than $15 Million In Disaster Assistance And SBA Loans
Release Date: January 4, 2008
Release Number: 1734-028
» More Information on Washington Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
LACEY, Wash. -- More than $15 million in assistance and loans has already has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for Washington residents affected by the severe storms, flooding, mudslides and landslides between December 1 to 17.
Residents in the nine counties eligible for Individual Assistance under the Dec. 8th declaration and subsequent amendments who suffered damage from the storms are urged to call the toll-free telephone registration number 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) as soon as possible. The TTY number for residents with special speech or hearing needs is TTY 1-800-462-7585. Hours of operation for registering with FEMA are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., local time seven days a week. Residents also can register online at www.fema.gov.
Counties eligible for Individual Assistance are Clallam, Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Snohomish and Thurston.
Disaster recovery efforts to date include:
- 8,257 individuals and households from the nine designated counties have applied for assistance.
- Nearly $12 million ($11,913,815) in Housing Assistance has been approved for rental assistance, temporary lodging and housing repairs.
- More than $800,000 ($866,997) in Other Needs Assistance (ONA) has been approved to cover personal property loss, medical costs and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.
- 107 rental referrals have been made from the Housing Resource Helpline.
- 3,156 visits have been made to the Disaster Recovery Centers in the designated counties to meet with recovery experts.
- 5,151 home inspections have been completed.
- The SBA has approved more than $3.1 ($3,143,700) in low-interest disaster loans to Washington residents and businesses. The SBA provides low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, private non-profit organizations and businesses of all sizes.
SBA representatives at all the Disaster Recovery Centers will continue to meet individually with each applicant to provide assistance in completing their disaster loan application, answer any questions about SBA's disaster loan program, and accept completed disaster loan applications. Anyone not able to visit a center should call 1-800-659-2955 for SBA assistance or visit the Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Friday, 04-Jan-2008 14:51:44