FEDERAL/STATE ASSISTANCE
On September 12 th upon the request of the Governor, President Obama issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the commonwealth which covers damage resulting from both Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. This declaration means that individuals, businesses and local, county and state governments may apply for federal disaster aid.
Individual Assistance covers individuals who have sustained damage to their property from Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee.
For applicants who qualify, individual assistance can include:
- Individual and Household Programs through the Department of Public Welfare
- Crisis Counseling
- Disaster Unemployment
- Emergency Food Stamps
- Farm Related Disaster Loans
- Disaster Legal Services
- Small Business Administration Disaster Loans
If you sustained losses or damage, you may be eligible for disaster aid, please take the following steps.
1. If you have insurance call your insurance company and file a claim.
2. Register with FEMA by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-3362. When you apply for disaster assistance, please have the following available:
- Social Security Number (including spouse)
- Private insurance information, if available
- Address and zip code of the damaged property
- Directions to the damaged home or property
- Daytime telephone number and current mailing address
3. Visit a Disaster Recovery Center in order to have all questions answered.
Public Assistance
Accurate and timely damage reporting is crucial to successfully requesting and receiving federal assistance. The recovery process begins with the identification of damages at the local level and the expeditious reporting of those damages within the emergency management channels:
· Businesses report property damages to the community’s Emergency Management Coordinator.
· Elected Officials report municipal property and infrastructure damages to the community’s Emergency Management Coordinator.
· Community Emergency Management Coordinators report damages to residential, business and municipal property and infrastructure within their community to the County Emergency Management Coordinator.
· County Emergency Management Coordinators report overall damages to residential, business and municipal property and infrastructure within their county to PEMA using the Initial Damage Reporter function of the automated Pennsylvania Emergency Information Reporting System (PEIRS).
PEMA analyzes the damage information it receives from the county(s) to determine if the event warrants requesting assistance from either FEMA or the SBA.
For more information on reporting your damages and links to forms that may be helpful go here.
