Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Urges Sixth Congressional District Residents to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance

September 13, 2011

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Urges Sixth Congressional District Residents to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance

(WASHINGTON, DC)–Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) urged Sixth Congressional District homeowners, renters, and business owners affected by the Hurricane Irene to apply for Disaster Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

"I am delighted that FEMA has named Queens County to be granted Individual Assistance yesterday, stated U.S. Rep Meeks. I would like to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo for working diligently on submitting Queens County to FEMA for assistance. Thousands of homeowners, renters and small business owners in the Sixth Congressional District have suffered flooding, structural damage, lost of personal property and damage from fallen trees. FEMA disaster assistance will bring significant relief to individuals in our community who suffered loss and damage because of the storm, and are already under financial distress.”

FEMA disaster assistance may include grants to help pay for rent and home repairs, replace personal property and reimburse medical, storage and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or charities. Assistance may also include low-interest federal disaster loans from SBA.

Homeowners, renters and business owners can register for assistance or check the status of their registration by calling FEMA's toll-free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by mobile device at m.fema.gov. If the registrant has a speech disability or hearing loss and uses a TTY, call 1-800-462-7585 directly. FEMA phone lines are open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week; multilingual operators are available.
Registering with FEMA must be done directly. Those who registered with a county disaster emergency services office must also apply with FEMA. Assistance may still be available to homeowners who have already cleaned up and made repairs.

When registering for FEMA by phone or online, have the following information ready:
• The address of the affected property;
• A brief description of the damage;
• A current mailing address;
• Social Security number;
• Insurance information, including policy numbers;
• A contact number or alternate such as a cell phone or work number.
• The name of declared county or reservation where property is located.

SBA offers disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations for their uncompensated losses. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence. Homeowners and renters may borrow up to $40,000 to replace personal property. Businesses may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace their property damage and/or economic losses.

For additional information on SBA disaster loan assistance, call SBA at 800-659-2955, or visit www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Those who are deaf or hard-of- hearing may call 800-877-8339, TTY directly. Applicants may apply online using SBA's Electronic Loan Application (ELA), via SBA's secure Web site at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.