How to Register for Disaster Assistance and What to Expect After Registration

How to Register and What to Expect After Registration

Register Now:

• Don’t wait. Homeowners, renters and business owners who suffered disaster-related damages or losses should call the FEMA registration line at 800-621-FEMA (3362) or 800-462-7585 for the hearing or speech impaired. People may also register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or through a web-enabled mobile device or smartphone m.fema.gov. Multilingual operators available.
• Survivors who have registered with a county disaster relief agency have not registered with FEMA and need to do so.
• Register, even if you are insured. Some insurance coverage may not be adequate and foundation damage may not appear until later. Survivors who suffered any damage or loss should register
• Disaster assistance covers a wide range of losses. Structural damage or repair may be covered, as well as damage to or loss of essential personal property, such as a major appliance or medical equipment such as wheelchairs.

After Registering:

• Keep critical appointments. A FEMA-contracted inspector will make an appointment to visit homes, usually within three days of registration. Make every effort to be at home, or authorize an agent to be present. Use the Helpline option at the FEMA registration toll-free number(s) for contact updates, including your agent’s name, a phone number or to change appointment times.
• Visit a Disaster Recovery Center if you have questions or need more information. Centers are open in or near 29 declared counties. Hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m., closed on Sundays (see listing below).
• Return all forms promptly. After registering, survivors may receive a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan application package in the mail. Fill out and return these forms promptly since they are an essential part of the disaster-assistance process. SBA representatives at Disaster Recovery Centers will assist in completing your SBA home or business disaster loan application as well as answer any of your questions (see below for more information on SBA).
• Stay in touch. Use the Helpline for answers to your questions about federal assistance.  This is the same number you called to register for aid at 800-621-FEMA (3362).
• Have realistic expectations. Disaster assistance should not be expected to restore survivors to pre-disaster conditions. It is intended to create safe and sanitary housing, and meet other critical needs to begin a long-term recovery.
• Please read all FEMA letters and documents. Applicants deemed eligible for disaster assistance will receive a letter from FEMA providing guidance on their disaster relief grant. It will explain ways the money can be spent in a recovery and explain that federal assistance may have to be repaid if it is duplicated by insurance or other assistance received.
• Talk to FEMA if you have questions, especially about insurance. If you receive a FEMA letter saying your application can’t be processed, it often means that one or more aspects of your application require further information or correction. Insured survivors may be told they must first settle with their insurer to prevent any duplication of payments.
• Keep FEMA in mind after your insurance settlement. Survivors may have been underinsured and some uncompensated losses may be eligible for some form of disaster aid. Call the Helpline if an insurance settlement is delayed, if it does not cover losses, if rental housing can’t be found in your area, or if additional living expense benefit is exhausted.  Survivors who don’t file a claim with an insurer within 12 months may not be eligible for FEMA assistance.
• Be pro-active. If survivors are not satisfied with FEMA’s decision on an application, an appeal can be filed in writing to FEMA Appeals Officer, National Processing Service Center, P.O. Box 10055, Hyattsville, MD, 20782. Appeals must be filed within 60 days of the date of the FEMA letter.
• Rebuild with disaster prevention in mind. Before starting any repairs or reconstruction, check with local building officials on required permits and inspections. Survivors who were displaced from their home and incurred hotel or motel expenses, should save receipts and check with FEMA on possible reimbursement.

Local Disaster Recovery Centers

State and federal Disaster Recovery Centers opened Saturday in Southhaven in DeSoto County and in Winona in Montgomery County. Thirteen centers are open to help people whose homes or businesses were affected by recent river flooding, storms and tornadoes (see listing for locations below). Hours are 9 a.m.-7p.m. and closed on Sundays. Additional recovery centers will open in other counties in the near future for survivors who suffered losses from storms, tornadoes and flooding.

Emergency management experts from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Small Business Administration and other agencies will staff the centers to explain disaster assistance programs.

Before visiting a center, people with storm, tornado and river flooding-related losses should register with FEMA by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or through a web-enabled mobile device or smartphone at m.fema.gov. Help is available in most languages. Those with speech or hearing impairment can call (TTY) 800-462-7585.

 

Alcorn County Crossroads Arena 2800 Levee Rd. Corinth, MS 38834	Hinds County Golden Keys Community Ctr. 3450 Albemarle Rd. Jackson, MS 39213	Lafayette County Anchor Baptist Church 1009 Hwy. 7 South Water Valley, MS 38965	Tunica County Dundee Community Ctr. 9140 Dundee Rd. Dundee, MS 38626
Chickasaw County Houston Civic Center 635 Starkville Rd. Houston, MS 38851	Monroe County Parham Community Center 60416 Hatley-Detroit Rd. Amory, MS 38821	Webster & Choctaw Counties Mathiston Library 298 Scott St. Mathiston, MS 39752	Jasper & Clarke Enterprise Town Hall 500 S. River Rd. Enterprise, MS 39330
Monroe County Intersection of Hwy 23 & Hwy 25 Smithville, MS 38870	Kemper County Kemper County Sheriff  330 Stennis Industrial Rd. DeKalb, MS 39328	DeSoto County DeSoto Tourists & Visitors Ctr. 4716 Pepper Chase Dr. Southaven, MS. 38671	Clay County Pheba Voting Precinct 21523 Hwy. 50 West Pheba, MS 39755
Montgomery County Court House 614 Summit St. Winona, MS 38671   Clay County Pheba Voting Precinct 21523 Hwy. 50 West Pheba, MS 39755	Tunica County Dundee Community Ctr. 9140 Dundee Rd. Dundee, MS 38626	Jasper & Clarke Enterprise Town Hall 500 S. River Rd. Enterprise, MS 39330

How to Contract Your Services
Your first step is to register with the Central Contractor Registry (www.ccr.gov, 866-606-8220); you should then request a FEMA Vendor Profile from the Industry Liaison Support Center (ILSC) at FEMA-Industry@dhs.gov.  Once you have completed the FEMA Vendor Profile, please e-mail the document to the ILSC for processing. Finally, your company should monitor FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov) for federal procurement opportunities.
 
Some helpful sites with more detailed content include:
http://www.fema.gov/privatesector/industry/
http://www.fema.gov/business/contractor.shtm (the Doing Business with FEMA site)
 
For specific contracting concerns and guidance during this process, please contact the Industry Liaison Support Center at 202-646-1895 or FEMA-Industry@dhs.gov.

U.S. Small Business Administration
The SBA Customer Service Center can be reached at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. 

SBA Physical Disaster Loan Eligibility
Any business or private, nonprofit organization that is located in a declared disaster area and has incurred damage during the disaster may apply for a loan to help replace damaged property or restore it to the condition it was in before the disaster. If your business or private, nonprofit organization - large or small - has suffered physical damage as a result of a disaster, you may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA makes physical disaster loans of up to $2 million to qualified businesses or private, nonprofit organizations.

In addition, disaster loans to repair or replace real property or leasehold improvements may be increased by as much as 20 percent of the total amount of disaster damage to real estate and/or leasehold improvements as verified by SBA to protect the damaged real property against possible future disasters of the same type. SBA loans cover uninsured and under-insured physical damage. If you are required to apply insurance proceeds to an outstanding mortgage on the damaged property, you can include that amount in your disaster loan application.

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans
If your small business or private, nonprofit organization has suffered economic injury, regardless of physical damage, and is located in a declared disaster area, you may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

What is an Economic Injury Disaster Loan?
If your business is located in a declared disaster area and has suffered economic injury because of the disaster (regardless of physical damage), you may be eligible for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Substantial economic injury is the inability of a business to meet its obligations as they mature and to pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses. EIDLs provide the necessary working capital to help small businesses survive until normal operations resume after a disaster.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Eligibility
Those eligible for these loans are small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and certain private nonprofit organizations of all sizes that have suffered substantial economic injury resulting from a physical disaster or an agricultural production disaster (as designated by the Secretary of Agriculture).
EIDL assistance is available only to businesses determined unable to obtain credit elsewhere, as determined by SBA. The SBA can provide up to $2 million in disaster assistance; this includes both economic injury and physical damage assistance. Your loan amount will be based on your actual economic injury and your company's financial needs.