Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Cleaning up after a flood? FEMA has some suggestions:
Check for structural damage before re-entering your home.
If you suspect damage to water, gas, electric or sewer lines, contact authorities.
Clean and disinfect everything touched by floodwaters.
Take photos of any water in the house and damaged personal property.
Make a detailed list of all damaged or lost items.
In simple terms, here’s the process:
A disaster happens. Local officials and first responders respond. These officials see that their communities need assistance in dealing with it. They ask the state for help. The state responds. Sometimes, the state sees that the response is beyond its resources. That’s when the state reaches out to FEMA for assistance.
Typically, before asking for a Major Disaster declaration, the state asks for a preliminary Damage Assessment. This is done by teams composed of state and federal officials. They arrive in the disaster damaged area and local officials show them the most severely damaged areas that they can access.
Among the items considered are:
If the President decides there’s a need, he signs a Major disaster declaration for either Individual Assistance, Public Assistance or both, for designated counties.
Individual Assistance means:
Individuals and business owners may be eligible for rental assistance, grants for repairs, or low interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)for damages to uninsured or underinsured property.
Public Assistance means:
Government entities and certain private non-profit agencies may be eligible to be reimbursed for the cost of repairs to uninsured or underinsured facilities, as well as some costs for labor and materials.
If there is a Major Disaster declaration, survivors may register for assistance at www.disasterassistance.gov, or by calling 1-800-621-3362or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585.
The Preliminary Damage Assessment teams often take photographs of damaged areas. After a Major Disaster declaration, photographs of your damages are accepted as documentation, in addition to your receipts.
Reader Comments(0)