Intro: Author Notes - - Chap.1: Your Disaster Recovery - - Chap.2: Eligibility Issues The New Disaster Relief HandbookDisaster: Aid: America: Moneybook:) sm) tmChapter 1: Your Disaster Recovery1.1: About The Federal Disaster Relief EffortThe Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) orchestrates and administers the federal government's various disaster relief efforts following a major earthquake, hurricane, flood, tornado, or other widespread calamity. As it relates to individual citizens and their recovery efforts, FEMA not only provides direct help to those with emergency housing needs, but also functions as a kind of official clearinghouse to coordinate the efforts of other federal, state, and non-profit agencies that are set up to provide essential services to disaster victims. The bulk of the federal aid program for individuals and families consists of four interlinked programs:
You do not need to apply to any of these agencies separately. The programs appropriate to your situation are automatically accessed when you call the FEMA Teleregistration Center (at 1-800-462-9029) and apply for assistance. If you had any damage to your home or contents, your primary case file will be immediately assigned to FEMA's own in-house aid program, Disaster Housing Assistance, and a FEMA disaster housing inspector will be promptly dispatched to investigate your claim. (For more detail about the FEMA inspector and what happens at the inspection, see Chapter Seven: Having A Great! Inspection.) AND, depending on your income level and other factors, you will be:
FEMA does not do any of the actual work itself. Neither do any of the other government agencies involved in disaster relief. The only thing these agencies can provide is money. Certainly money is important, but there are other avenues to explore. The first place to start should probably be the American Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers set up shelters and work hard to provide hot nutritious food and other kinds of emergency assistance after every major disaster. The Salvation Army often performs similar functions. Habitat for Humanity and other groups can sometimes afford to provide actual hands-on home repair assistance. You might try contacting your nearest church or synagogue, temple or mosque - most religious organizations in a disaster area organize volunteer crews to help neighborhood victims do minor home repairs, run errands, provide childcare, etc. You don't necessarily have to be a member to participate. Other local charities such as food banks, clinics, and homeless shelters can be relied on in case of emergency. But perhaps the most satisfying way to help effect your own disaster recovery might be to cooperate with other similarly-affected neighbors in cleaning up debris, helping repair each other's homes, cooking meals, etc. It's almost a cliche, but the truth is that if disasters have an upside, it's that they can draw neighbors out and bring communities together like practically nothing else. Get out, and get involved! Inspector's Notebook: What goes around, comes around.
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1.2: FEMA's Disaster Housing Assistance ProgramThis is the cornerstone program of the federal disaster relief effort, Uncle Sam's big quick hitter. Even though the Small Business Administration may provide more aid in terms of total dollars, the FEMA Disaster Housing Assistance program serves far more disaster victims than any other government program.Disaster Housing Assistance provides three important benefits:
Note: Excess home repair costs (over the Disaster Housing Assistance program limit of $10,000) can sometimes be recovered through the state-administered Individual and Family Grant Program (see IFGP - next section). If there was any physical damage to your property, a FEMA inspector will be assigned to contact you at your "damaged dwelling" in order to verify your disaster-related losses for both grant programs, Disaster Housing Assistance and the IFGP. For more information see:
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1.3: The Individual and Family Grant Program (IFGP)This combination state and federal program is automatically accessed when you call the Disaster Teleregistration Center. While the relevant state government administers the IFGP, the federal government sets the guidelines, helps fund, and provides most of the "client referrals" to the program (via SBA loan declines and original FEMA referrals). Additionally, the FEMA inspector will routinely check for related IFGP-covered losses at the same time as he performs the basic FEMA housing inspection. The IFGP provides funds to help pay for emergency disaster-related needs and expenses such as: the repair or replacement of damaged furniture and appliances; transportation problems; medical, dental, or funeral expenses; and essential home repairs not covered, or insufficiently covered by FEMA's Disaster Housing Assistance, private insurance, or other aid or personal resources.Note: the IFGP is a "safety net" program, and is available only when you have needs which cannot be met with loans, FEMA housing assistance, private insurance, or help from any other source. The maximum for an IFGP grant is $13,400 (as of March, 1998). Unlike FEMA's Disaster Housing Assistance program, the IFGP limit is adjusted annually for inflation. Remember, if you receive a loan application packet from the SBA, you need to complete and return it to them in order to remain eligible for the IFGP program. Be sure to return it promptly as it can take as long as 60 days for the SBA to evaluate your loan application. If you are approved for an SBA loan, you will not be referred back to the IFGP unless the loan amount you qualify for is insufficient to provide for your basic recovery needs. See Chapter Four for a detailed description of covered IFGP losses. Inspector's notebook: Charity begins at home.
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1.4: The SBA Disaster Loan ProgramFEMA says: "The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the primary source of funds to assist in long term recovery efforts for disaster victims. For disaster damage to private property owned by individuals, families and businesses, which is not fully covered by insurance, the basic form of federal assistance is a low-interest loan from the SBA. By making affordable loans (the annual interest rate charge for most SBA disaster loans is currently under 4%), the SBA Disaster Loan program is designed to help disaster victims pay for their repairs while keeping costs to the taxpayers reasonable." If the SBA determines that you are unable to repay a loan, they will automatically refer you to the state-administered Individual and Family Grant Program (IFGP) and provide renewed access for you, if necessary and possible, to other disaster aid programs. Please note: even if you believe you cannot afford a loan, if you were referred to the SBA (i.e. given or mailed a loan application) then you need to complete and return that application to them. . ."Only if the SBA determines that you cannot repay a loan or the amount of the loan is not enough to meet all your needs will you be referred to the IFGP." Loan limits are set to meet the differing needs of:
For more information see Chapter Eight, SBA Disaster Loans. [HOME]
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1.5: Federal Flood InsuranceThe FEMA-administered National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides relatively low-cost insurance coverage for flood damage to properties in identified flood plains (i.e. flood hazard zones A, AE, AH, AO, A99, V, VE, and X, below) in communities certified by FEMA as implementing adopted floodplain management measures. Federal flood insurance can cover damage to both real and personal property.Note: Regular homeowner's insurance will not cover flood damage. Furthermore, there is a 30-day-waiting period (after purchase) before a flood insurance policy becomes effective! If you are in a flood and receive federal financial aid (from either the Disaster Housing Assistance program, the IFGP, or the SBA Disaster Loan Program) you will be required to purchase and maintain a flood insurance policy as a condition of assistance in any possible future flood disaster. Moreover, FEMA now requires that mortgage lenders in turn require owners of properties in identified flood plains to purchase and maintain federal flood insurance as a condition of loan approval. FEMA, in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers, is moving along with the process of mapping out the entire United States into three primary flood hazard zones: a 100-year inland flood zone (zones A, AE, AH, AO, and A99); a 100-year coastal flood hazard zone (zones V and VE); and a 500-year or no-flood hazard zone (zone X). NOTE: the terms 100-year and 500 -year refer to the probability of flooding occurring in any given year (1% for zones A and V; 0.2% for zone X). Please note that it is entirely possible for two "one-hundred-year" floods to happen twice in the same area in the same year (or even in the same month!). Flood insurance costs homeowners an average about $350 a year. The actual cost to you would depend on the height of your home relative to the so-called base flood elevation (the predicted height of a 100-year flood in your area), whether you have a basement or not, and other factors. For more details, contact the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or stop by your friendly local insurance agent's office for a chat. . . . We also hear there's a somewhat spontaneous gathering of agents and other interested parties happening at NFIP.com, a new up-and-coming commercial site. Check it out;) Inspector's notebook: Flood insurance really works too!
VIEW: (Sample) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), Scioto County, Ohio
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1.6: Other Programs and Types of AssistanceThe following is a brief outline of other assistance programs that might be available for your specific disaster. While Teleregistration will normally refer you to all of the programs appropriate to your situation, to be sure that you are registered for - or to get further information about - any specific program, you may want to contact them directly. (See the inside back cover of this book for a list of these and other important telephone numbers.)
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1.7: A Typical Disaster Scenario
- Elapsed time from date of your disaster registration 1-6 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your FEMA inspection 5-10 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your FEMA inspection 10-14 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your FEMA inspection 20-30 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your SBA application 2-20 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your FEMA inspection 35-60 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of your SBA inspection 10-20 days (typical). - Elapsed time from date of the disaster occurrence 38-69 days (typical) ### End of Chapter One * * * * * * * * Copyright ©1998-2009 John Porter aka John Lionheart
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