Locate or List Rental Housing Online
Release Date: October 3, 2005
Release Number: 1603-059
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Victims of recent hurricanes who have been displaced from their homes can search for available rental housing with Disaster Housing Resources Online (DHR Online) at www.dhronline.org. DHR Online is an easily accessible Web site listing immediately available rental properties. People can search by location, price range and housing description including number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
Property owners who have an apartment or house for rent also can list their available properties on this Web site at no cost. Information needed includes the city, parish or zip code where the property is located, price range for rent, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
Operated by Florida State University, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the site was an important asset in locating housing for people displaced during the 2004 hurricane season. Officials from FEMA and the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness believe it will be a valuable tool to help Gulf Coast residents recover from this years hurricanes.
FEMA recently began distributing an expedited transitional housing allowance of $2,358 to eligible victims of Hurricane Katrina. The agency accelerated the assistance to provide immediate help to displaced applicants. The money is designed to cover three months of rent and can be used wherever housing resources are available. Federal and state agencies are working to establish adequate temporary housing in the disaster area so victims can be nearer to their homes.
The fastest way to register for disaster assistance is to register online at www.fema.gov. Other valuable information regarding disaster assistance is available at the FEMA Web site. The FEMA toll-free registration number is 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). People with a speech- or hearing-impairment can call TTY 1-800-462-7585. Phone lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Monday, 03-Oct-2005 13:26:31