On Saturday, October 29th, President Obama signed a Major Disaster Declaration for New York in Hurricane Sandy's aftermath. In order to assist those whose homes were damaged from Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is willing to provide these victims with temporary housing.
To qualify for assistance:
- Your property must not be covered by your insurance
- You or someone you live with must be a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien
- The damaged home must be your primary residence or the residence in which you reside for the majority of the year
- You must not be able to reside in your home at the present
Normally, you will not qualify for disaster assistance if you have insurance. However, there are some cases where you can still get help. These cases include:
- If your insurance settlement has been delayed for longer than thirty days from the time you filed the claim
- If you have received the maximum settlement from your insurance for Additional Living Expenses and still need help with your disaster-related temporary housing need.
There are three ways in which you can apply for disaster assistance:
- Visit DisasterAssistance.gov
- Visit m.fema.gov with your smartphone
- Call (800) 621-3362
- Those with speech or hearing disabilities can call (800) 462-7585
When applying for assistance, you should have the following readily available:
- Social Security number
- Current and pre-disaster address
- Your contact number
- Insurance information
- Total household annual income
- Your bank Routing and Account numbers (if necessary)
- Description of losses from disaster
You should also have a pen and paper because you will be given an application number after applying that will be needed in the future.