Federal aid tops $94 million with two weeks left to apply to FEMA, SBA

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – Just over six weeks after President Obama signed the major disaster declaration making West Virginia residents eligible for federal assistance following the June 22-29 storms, survivors are reminded they have only two weeks left to apply for federal grants or loans.

The deadlines to register for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as to file a physical disaster loan application with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), are both Wednesday, Aug. 24.

Storm survivors have been approved for grants and loans totaling more than $94 million. The federal disaster assistance is paid to survivors of the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in the 12 southeastern West Virginia counties named in the presidential declaration of June 25.

The disaster funds come to the state in the form of FEMA grants to individuals and households; FEMA public assistance grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations; low-interest disaster loans from the SBA, and claims paid by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

More than $31.7 million has been approved by FEMA for individual housing assistance, nearly $6 million in other needs assistance, $4.8 million in public assistance and $24,575 in Disaster Unemployment Assistance. In addition, the SBA approved 599 low-interest disaster loans totaling more than $39.3 million, and 941 NFIP claims have been filed totaling more than $12.7 million in payouts.

A total of 8,455 homeowners, renters and businesses have applied to FEMA for individual disaster assistance grants in the 12 affected counties: Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Roane, Summers, and Webster.

Disaster assistance for individuals may include grants to help homeowners and renters with temporary housing, essential home repairs, personal property replacement, and serious disaster-related needs. Disaster assistance grants are not taxable income and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare and other federal and state programs. Grants do not have to be repaid to the federal government.

FEMA Public Assistance Grants provide funding to state, tribal and local governments, and certain types of private, nonprofit organizations to help them quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the president. Public assistance grants are available in Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Randolph, Upshur and Wayne counties and are also available in the 12 individual assistance counties.

FEMA-contracted housing inspectors have completed nearly 6,800 inspections of disaster-damaged properties to verify damage.

Registering with FEMA is the first step in qualifying for assistance. Aug. 24 is the last day for survivors to file an application. FEMA encourages all survivors who sustained disaster-related damage or losses to apply by phone (voice, 711 or relay service) at 800-621-3362 (TTY users should call 800-462-7585) or online at DisasterAssistance.gov . The toll-free lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

In support of the State of West Virginia, Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) personnel are still canvassing flood-impacted neighborhoods. To date, DSA workers have made 18,089 visits to homes in storm-impacted neighborhoods. They are equipped to register survivors with FEMA and answer their questions about disaster assistance.

The State’s and FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) remain open in Clay, Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Nicholas counties. The centers report 8,081 visitors to date.  Effective Saturday, Aug. 13, the DRCs’ operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sundays. (Until Aug. 13, hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.) An easy-to-use DRC Locator is available at http://asd.fema.gov/inter/locator/home.htm.

FEMA mitigation advisors have hosted 18 free workshops throughout the storm-damaged area for West Virginia flood survivors repairing or rebuilding their damaged homes. This week and next experts will offer tips and answer questions at four more hardware stores and home improvement centers in Charleston and South Charleston.

The SBA, one of FEMA’s partners in disaster recovery, offers low-interest disaster loans to businesses, homeowners and renters. SBA disaster loans may cover repairs, rebuilding, as well as the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged real estate and personal property. SBA has staff on hand at all FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) to assist survivors, one-on-one.

For more information about SBA loans, call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit http://www.sba.gov/disaster.  TTY users may call 800-877-8339. —Applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. The deadline to file an SBA physical disaster loan application is Wednesday, Aug. 24.

If your SBA loan application is approved, you may be eligible to borrow additional funds to cover the cost of improvements that will protect your property against future damage. Examples include elevating utilities, water heaters and furnaces, and installing retaining walls and sump pumps.  Applicants may be eligible for an SBA loan increase, for mitigation purposes, of up to 20 percent of their physical damages.

In addition, the SBA operates three Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) to enable storm-impacted businesses to meet individually with SBA representatives and find out how a low-interest disaster loan can help them recover.

The BRCs are located at:

Greenbrier County
Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corp.
804 Industrial Park, Suite 5
Maxwelton, WV  24957
Hours:  Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
Kanawha County
Charleston Area Alliance
1116 Smith Street
Charleston, WV  25301
Hours:  Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nicholas County
Summersville Village Hall
Conference Room
400 N. Broad Street
Summersville, WV 26651
Hours:  Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
 

Other help available to individuals:

In conjunction with FEMA Work Force West Virginia is advertising open temporary positions in Kanawha, Greenbrier and Raleigh Counties. Interested "local hire" applicants may complete an enrollment form at http://workforcewv.org .
Free disaster legal assistance is available to storm survivors. This service offers counseling on insurance claims, landlord-tenant issues, home-repair contracts, and the replacement of lost or damaged legal documents and other legal matters. Call the toll-free hotline 877-331-4259.