FEMA Funds Relocation of Displaced Katrina/Rita Households
Release Date: October 15, 2007
Release Number: HQ-07-203
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today a reimbursement program that will provide relocation assistance to disaster victims displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The damage and destruction caused by the hurricanes resulted in many Gulf Coast residents temporarily relocating to various locations around the country. Currently there are Katrina/Rita households in all but one of the states, including 800 in Arkansas, 875 in Tennessee, 880 in Georgia, 225 in Colorado and 160 in California.
The program will reimburse eligible applicants for relocation expenses up to $4,000 that have been or will be incurred between Aug. 29, 2005, and Feb. 29, 2008, for Katrina, or Sept. 24, 2005, to Feb. 29, 2008, for Rita. Funding for relocation expenses must be available to applicants within the FEMA Individuals and Households Program cap and they must not have received funds from any other state, federal or voluntary agency subsidized travel-home program.
Those applicants returning to their pre-disaster states must relocate to housing that is not provided by FEMA and is not a hotel or motel. For those families that are already living in their pre-disaster state in FEMA travel trailers or mobile homes, FEMA will pay moving expenses to a FEMA-funded rental resource anywhere in the continental United States. However, FEMA will pay for an in-state move only if the new location is greater than 50 miles from applicants' current location in the state.
To be eligible for the program, applicants must have been displaced from their primary residence in a disaster-declared area as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and have incurred or will incur relocation travel expenses within the defined period.
Relocation assistance will be limited to travel costs including airfare, train, bus and/or a rental vehicle. Furniture transportation expenses are eligible, including commercially rented equipment for hauling and commercially purchased moving materials or moving services including cost of liability insurance and taxes. Mileage, gas and taxes incurred while using commercial rented equipment also are eligible costs. Lodging costs for one night, one room if the distance between the current residence and the new residence are more than 400 miles is also eligible. Moving costs for recreational or large luxury items such as boats or recreational vehicles are not eligible expenses under this program.
Eligible applicants are those individuals or households eligible for assistance under FEMA's Individuals and Households Program who still have funds available under their financial assistance cap. Applicants must submit verifiable estimates including anticipated travel dates; payments will be based on a one-time submission of receipts, statement of costs, and/or estimates for the entire household.
For more information on FEMA's Relocation Assistance program or to request reimbursement of relocation expenses, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY: 1-800-462-7585). Applicants are eligible to receive relocation assistance only under Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, not both.
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: Monday, 15-Oct-2007 16:30:37