|
The Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $1.5 billion in direct assistance to hurricane Helene and Milton survivors. These funds help survivors with housing repairs, personal property replacement and other essential recovery efforts. Additionally, over $1.2 billion has been approved for debris removal and emergency protective measures necessary to save lives, protect public health and prevent further damage to public and private property.
FEMA personnel are supporting communities across the Southeast, coordinating with local officials, conducting damage assessments and helping individuals apply for disaster assistance programs. More than 1,400 FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance team members are in affected neighborhoods, helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.
Disaster Recovery Centers can provide survivors with in-person help with their applications. There are currently 85 Disaster Recovery Centers open across states affected by Helene and Milton where survivors can speak with representatives from the state, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration that can assist them with their recovery and applying for assistance. Survivors can find their closest center at FEMA.gov/DRC.
President Biden declared major disaster declarations for six states affected by Helene—Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia—and Florida for Milton. FEMA encourages Helene and Milton survivors to apply for disaster assistance online as this remains the quickest way to start your recovery. Individuals can apply for federal assistance by:
Applicants may be eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance, which provides survivors with a safe, temporary place to stay, like a hotel or motel, until they can find a short or longer-term housing solution. To date, more than 30,400 households have checked into FEMA provided hotels.
For the latest updates on the Hurricane Helene and Milton response, please visit Press Releases | FEMA.gov or our disaster pages at Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Additional information is available on our Hurricane Rumor Response webpage.
 Charlotte, N.C. (Nov. 4, 2024) - FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell visits staff at a Disaster Recovery Center and gives an update on the ongoing recovery efforts to media outlets.
 Hickory, N.C. (Nov. 4, 2024) - FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell surveyed progress on Direct Temporary Housing efforts for North Carolina Helene survivors.
 Swainsboro, Ga. (Nov. 2, 2024) - A FEMA Individual Assistance specialist guides an applicant affected by Hurricane Helene through the FEMA application process at a Disaster Recovery Center in Georgia.
 Largo, Fla. (Oct. 31, 2024) - Accessible Communication Survivor Support Helpline agents assist Deaf and Hard of Hearing survivors at a Disaster Recovery Center in Florida.
 Cortez, Fla. (Oct. 29. 2024) - FEMA Associate Administrator for Resilience Victoria Salinas, along with Manatee County officials, visits Hunters Point Neighborhood in Florida to meet with the owner of the development, Marshall Gobuty, to talk about how the building codes and mitigation design helped the community withstand all three hurricanes.
 Tampa, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2024) - FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crews have spread around Davis Islands, canvassing neighborhoods to help survivors recover by helping them register for FEMA disaster assistance.
 Sarasota, Fla. (Oct. 28, 2024) – The Heritage Emergency National Task Force team restores images and items survivors had damaged in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Florida.
 Fairfield, S.C. (Oct. 28, 2024) - FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams help survivors affected by Hurricane Helene apply for disaster assistance to jumpstart their recovery process.
FEMA is hiring supervisory community liaisons to support local communities affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
Supervisory community liaisons will supervise community liaisons. Community liaisons serve as trusted messengers and act as the community's link between residents, FEMA and other federal agency programs to ensure communities affected by a disaster have their needs met. The ideal candidate will have close ties to the community and leverage their local knowledge, relationships and familiarity with the affected area to support disaster recovery.
This job announcement is in Asheville, North Carolina, and will close Wednesday, Nov. 6.
For more information about this position and to apply, please visit USAJobs – Job Announcement.
|
.
At the request of the State of Florida and FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will continue to collect Right of Entry forms for Operation Blue Roof through Thursday, Nov. 14, extending the original deadline by nine days.
Homeowners impacted by Hurricane Milton can sign-up for this free service at BlueRoof.gov or by calling toll free 1-888-ROOF-BLU (1-888-766-3258).
The program provides a temporary solution that protects a homeowner’s property and allows them to remain in their home. Though commonly misreferred to as a “tarp,” this is fiber-reinforced, industrial-strength sheeting that is well-suited to protect storm-damaged roofs until homeowners can make permanent repairs.
The 25 Florida counties currently eligible for Operation Blue Roof are: Brevard, Citrus, Charlotte, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia Counties.
Operation Blue Roof is a priority mission managed by USACE and FEMA. Applying for the program requires a Right of Entry form, which allows USACE access to a homeowner’s property to their home's damage. The Right of Entry form also allows contracted crews to complete the Blue Roof installation.
Not all roof types qualify for the program. Check the BlueRoof.gov website for details.
Watch or share the Operation Blue Roof video in English or Spanish.
.
To help the communities affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton, FEMA implemented the agency’s local hire program. FEMA’s local hire program consists of residents who aid in the recovery of their community. These employees are hired into 120-day appointments that may be extended based on the needs of the disaster.
If you know someone who was impacted by the storms and wants to make a difference in their community, consider sharing the information below:
You can also sign up to receive USAJOBS email notifications for similar jobs.
To learn more about the local hire process, what you need to apply and resume tips, visit FEMA.gov.
.
FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have created a one-stop-shop resource with information about multiple federal support that is available to assist local businesses with their recovery. The guide—tailored for each affected state—is available on FEMA’s website at the links below:
A full list of more than 70 resources from 17 federal agencies is available on disasterassistance.gov.
|
.
 Columbia, S.C. (Oct. 14, 2024) - FEMA Director of Disability Integration and Coordination Sherman Gillums, Jr., visits the Association for Better Living and Education to support their ongoing efforts in supporting the disabled community before, during and after disasters. Director Gillums met with the Director of Community Education, Dori Tempio, Sr., and the Director of Public Health, Mandy Halloran.
Since Hurricane Helene made landfall, FEMA has been working with governmental and voluntary disability support organizations to ensure survivors with disabilities have the tools they need to recover from the storm. Building relationships with these organizations pre-disaster has been crucial to getting support to survivors as quickly as possible. FEMA’s Disability Integration advisors continue advocating for people with disabilities and connecting them with available resources to help speed their recovery.
FEMA Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination Sherman Gillums, Jr., traveled to hurricane-impacted areas to support these advisors, survey recovery efforts and meet with state officials and local disability organizations. The percentage of people applying for FEMA disaster assistance and identifying as having a disability is consistent with the demographic information for the hurricane affected areas.
As disability advisors, Director Gillums and his staff work to integrate accessibility into all stages of recovery. This includes everything from helping survivors access medical necessities to getting them access to assistive devices like screen readers so they can apply for assistance. Most importantly, the advisors support emergency management specialists throughout the recovery process by helping them integrate accessibility and disability inclusiveness into their work.
Read the full press release by visiting FEMA.gov.
In addition, visit Home Repairs and Improvements for Survivors with Disabilities: FEMA Quick Reference Guide to learn about FEMA programs that can help people with disabilities before, during and after disasters.
|
