Good Evening All,
Below please find information regarding Disaster Aid Programs from Live Event Management Services: LifeCare
Call 24/7 866-888-9803 WorkLife4You Life Event Management Services : LifeCare
There are three major categories of disaster aid:
Individual Assistance
Immediately after the declaration of a disaster, disaster workers arrive and set up
a central field office to coordinate the recovery effort. A toll-free telephone
number is published for use by affected residents and business owners in
registering for assistance. Disaster Recovery Centers also are opened where
disaster victims can meet with program representatives and obtain information
about available aid and the recovery process.
Disaster aid to individuals generally falls into the following categories:
· Disaster Housing may be available for up to 18 months, using local resources,
for displaced persons whose residences were heavily damaged or destroyed.
Funding also can be provided for housing repairs and replacement of damaged
items to make homes habitable.
· Disaster Grants are available to help meet other serious disaster related needs
and necessary expenses not covered by insurance and other aid programs.
These may include replacement of personal property, and transportation,
medical, dental and funeral expenses.
· Low-Interest Disaster Loans are available after a disaster for homeowners and
renters from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover uninsured
property losses. Loans may be for repair or replacement of homes, automobiles,
clothing or other damaged personal property. Loans are also available to
businesses for property loss and economic injury.
· Other Disaster Aid Programs include crisis counseling, disaster-related
unemployment assistance, legal aid and assistance with income tax, Social
Security and Veteran's benefits. Other state or local help may also be available.
· Assistance Process -- After the application is taken, the damaged property is
inspected to verify the loss. If approved, an applicant will soon receive a check for
rental assistance or a grant. Loan applications require more information and
approval may take several weeks after application. The deadline for most
individual assistance programs is 60 days following the President's major disaster
declaration.
Audits are done later to ensure that aid went to only those who were eligible and that
disaster aid funds were used only for their intended purposes. These federal program
funds cannot duplicate assistance provided by other sources such as insurance.
After a major disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tries to
notify all disaster victims about the available aid programs and urge them to apply.
The news media are encouraged to visit a Disaster Recovery Center, meet with
disaster officials, and help publicize the disaster aid programs and the toll-free
teleregistration number.
Public Assistance
Public Assistance (PA) is aid to state or local governments to pay part of the costs of
rebuilding a community's damaged infrastructure. Generally, public assistance
programs pay for 75 per cent of the approved project costs. Public Assistance may
include debris removal, emergency protective measures and public services, repair of
damaged public property, loans needed by communities for essential government
functions and grants for public schools.
The objective of FEMA's PA Grant Program is to provide assistance to State, Tribal
and local governments, and certain types of Private Nonprofit organizations so that
communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies
declared by the President.
Through the PA Program, FEMA provides supplemental Federal disaster grant
assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair,
replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the
facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP) organizations. The PA Program also
encourages protection of these damaged facilities from future events by providing
assistance for hazard mitigation measures during the recovery process.
The Federal share of assistance is not less than 75% of the eligible cost for
emergency measures and permanent restoration. The grantee (usually the State)
determines how the non-Federal share (up to 25%) is split with the subgrantees
(eligible applicants).
Hazard Mitigation
Disaster victims and public entities are encouraged to avoid the life and property risks
of future disasters. Examples include the elevation or relocation of chronically flooddamaged
homes away from flood hazard areas, retrofitting buildings to make them
resistant to earthquakes or strong winds, and adoption and enforcement of adequate
codes and standards by local, state and federal government. FEMA helps fund
damage mitigation measures when repairing disaster-damaged structures and through
the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
HMGP provides grants to States and local governments to implement long-term
hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the
HMGP is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable
mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a
disaster. The HMGP is authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment