FEMA rental assistance is a temporary grant to residents to pay for somewhere to live while they repair or rebuild their home. For renters, it may provide a solution while their lodging is under repair or while they look for a new place to rent.
Options include renting an apartment, home or travel trailer that can keep residents near their jobs, schools, homes and places of worship.
Funds can be used for security deposits, rent and the cost of essential utilities such as electricity, gas and water. They may not be used to pay for cable or Internet.
Residents who live in Colfax, Lincoln, Mora, San Miguel or Valencia counties, follow these steps if your home is not safe, sanitary and livable and you need a place to stay:
File a claim with your insurance company. Your homeowners or renters’ insurance company will provide a settlement document that you will need to provide to FEMA. It may take time to get this document, so file your claim as soon as possible. Also, check with your insurance agent to see if your policy covers additional living expenses (ALE). ALE may pay for relocating to a temporary residence.
Apply for FEMA assistance right away. If you have insurance, tell FEMA and submit your settlement documents for review once you receive them. FEMA cannot determine your final eligibility status until this information is complete. If your policy does not include ALE, or if you use up this coverage and you still cannot live in your home, you may be eligible for rental assistance from FEMA. You can apply by going online to disasterassistance.gov, by downloading the FEMA app or by calling the Helpline at 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).
A FEMA inspector may contact you to make an appointment to assess the damage on the outside of the home and to record your information of any damage inside. Inspectors may look through windows to see visible damage but will not go inside.
Keep your receipts for three years to show how you spent FEMA grants. If grant money is not used as outlined in the letter, you may have to repay FEMA and could lose eligibility for further federal assistance.
Rental assistance extensions may be granted for three-month periods up to a maximum of 18 months from the date of the FEMA disaster declaration if you continue to have a need for assistance and meet eligibility criteria. FEMA is prohibited from duplicating benefits provided by other sources for the same loss. While FEMA grants do not have to be paid back, if you receive assistance from another source for the same need you may be required to repay FEMA.
To address many of the common myths and rumors during the New Mexico wildfires, FEMA activated a rumor/myth webpage on the disaster homepage. Visit the FAQ/Rumor page at fema.gov/nm-rumors.
San Juan, Puerto Rico – The Disaster Recovery Centers in Vega Baja and Cataño are scheduled to close permanently on Saturday, May 28, but disaster assistance is still available.The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
Survivors of the affected municipalities of Cataño, Dorado, Toa Baja, Vega Alta, and Vega Baja can continue to visit temporary centers open in nearby municipalities.
The temporary centers are located at:
San Juan, Puerto Rico – The Disaster Recovery Centers in Vega Baja and Cataño are scheduled to close permanently on Saturday, May 28, but disaster assistance is still available.The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
Survivors of the affected municipalities of Cataño, Dorado, Toa Baja, Vega Alta, and Vega Baja can continue to visit temporary centers open in nearby municipalities.
The temporary centers are located at:
Pabellón Comercial Rafael Hernández Colón
Junta de Inscripción Permanente de Candelaria
Calle Méndez Vigo #349
RR-865
(in front of Residencial El Dorado), Dorado
Barrio Candelaria, Toa Baja
Regular hours: Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
FEMA will continue to support survivors with several options to apply for disaster assistance. You can also apply with FEMA through your smart phone, home computer or by phone. The fastest ways to apply for assistance are:
By phone at 800-621-3362. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish and 3 for all other languages. Those who use a relay service such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Phone lines operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week
Download FEMA’s mobile app. Select Disaster Resources and click on Apply for Assistance Online.
To get additional information or find the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) nearest you, click on the FEMA DRC link: Fema.gov/drc.
WASHINGTON -- FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Kansas to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms and straight-line winds from March 17-22, 2022.
Federal funding is available to the state, eligible local and tribal governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities in Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ford, Graham, Gray, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Lane, Meade, Ness, Pawnee, Phillips, Rooks, Rush, Stafford, Trego and Wallace counties.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
DuWayne Tewes has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of damage assessments.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Unincorporated Riverside County residents and businesses will now be eligible for an additional five percent discount—up from 15 to 20 percent—on their flood insurance premiums thanks to local mitigation efforts.
The county’s new Community Rating System (CRS) Class 6 level, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), rewards policyholders with 20 percent discounts on residential and nonresidential structures in identified flood zones. After April 1, current and new policyholders will save about $150 on their annual flood insurance premiums, about $40 more than Class 7 discounts. With over 1,900 policies in Riverside County, more than $290,000 per year will now be saved.
Chairman of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors Jeff Hewitt remarked “I’m proud of the collaboration between County Building and Safety, the Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and the Coachella Valley Water District to bring these savings to our residents. We are continually raising our game and it is great to see it recognized.”
“We applaud Riverside County,” said FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton. “Because of the commitment of elected officials and the county’s floodplain manager, two benefits are realized. First is the long-term benefit of reducing future flood losses. Second is the annual financial savings to residents through lower insurance premiums.”
Activities that help communities raise their CRS standing include public outreach programs, higher mapping and regulation standards, and flood mitigation initiatives that help save lives and protect property from flooding.
Fenton added, “Getting flood insurance is the smart thing to do, because just an inch of water in your home can cost $25,000 to fix. Homeowners’ and renters’ policies do not cover floods, so flood insurance can help protect you from a potential financial disaster.”
NFIP policies are available through private insurance companies and agents, with a 30-day waiting period before coverage goes into effect.
For information about floods, flood insurance and your own flood risk, visit floodsmart.gov.
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San Juan, Puerto Rico - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $1 million in disaster assistance for survivors of the severe storm, floods and landslides that occurred on February 4 – 6, 2022.
Disaster Assistance grants distributed to survivors include over $507,500 in Housing Assistance to repair damaged homes and nearly $496,000 in Other Needs Assistance, which covers personal property damaged during the disaster.
FEMA assistance for individuals and families affected by the severe storm, floods and landslides can help with rental assistance, temporary housing, home repairs, personal property losses and other disaster-related needs not covered by insurance. Both homeowners and renters may be eligible for assistance. The deadline to apply for disaster assistance is May 31.
Survivors from the affected municipalities of Cataño, Dorado, Toa Baja, Vega Alta, and Vega Baja are eligible to apply for disaster assistance. To get additional information, find the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) nearest you, click on the FEMA DRC link: Fema.gov/drc.
The temporary centers are located at:
Pabellón Comercial Rafael Hernández Colón
Calle Méndez Vigo #349
(in front of Residencial El Dorado), Dorado
Junta de Inscripción Permanente de Candelaria
RR-865
Barrio Candelaria, Toa Baja
Centro de Usos Múltiples
Carr. PR-5, Km 2.6
Sector Juana Matos, Cataño
Centro Comunal Los Naranjos
Barrio Cabo Caribe Comunidad Los Naranjos,
Parcela 119-A Vega Baja
Regular hours: Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
You may also apply with FEMA through your smart phone, home computer or by phone. The fastest ways to apply for assistance are:
By phone at 800-621-3362. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish and 3 for all other languages. Those who use a relay service such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Phone lines operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week
Download FEMA’s mobile app. Select Disaster Resources and click on Apply for Assistance Online.
CHICAGO – Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will host a Virtual Flood Map Information Open House for communities in Union County, Ohio, on June 1, 2022, from 5 – 7 p.m. ET. The open house will give residents the chance to review preliminary versions of a recently completed Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM).
The FIS and the FIRMs provide base flood (also known as the 1-percent-annual-chance event) information, designate areas that are subject to significant flood hazards within areas of the county, and offer information that public officials may use when permitting development in the floodplain.
Experts at the virtual open house will help residents understand flood risk and flood insurance, floodplain development regulations and the mapping process in Union County. The newly prepared preliminary floodplain maps can also be reviewed at the meeting.
Property owners, realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation within their community. Digital files of the Preliminary FIRM and FIS report can be downloaded from www.fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata.
If you need a reasonable accommodation (sign language interpreters, Braille, CART, etc.), please send an e-mail to FEMA-Region5-FloodInsuranceOutreach@fema.dhs.gov at least 48 hours before the event. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to fulfill.
Only three walls of the bathhouse survived the two Category 5 hurricanes. Only the facility's cistern remains today after the building was demolished.
FEMA's Public Assistance and Environmental and Historic Preservation teams collaborated with the territory and the Magens Bay Authority on a scope of work agreement to replace Bathhouse No. 1. A final site inspection of the bathhouse revealed a septic system and a large concrete slab, necessitating revisions of the original detailed drawings and dimensions to the scope of work.
“The collaborative effort of the Magens Bay Authority, the territory, FEMA, and its federal partners to approve the bathhouse replacement project exemplifies the ongoing work to recover from the 2017 hurricanes. We are honored to be a part of this project and eagerly await the opening of the new bathhouse,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Recovery Director Kristen Hodge.
“The Board of Directors and management of the Magens Bay Authority thanks all the participants for their technical assistance on this project. It remains the Authority’s intent to remove what is remaining of Bathhouse Building No. 1 and rebuild a facility that more closely resembles the Authority’s other bathhouse facility at Smith Bay Park on St. Thomas,” said Magens Bay Authority.
“Magens Bay Park, with its white-sand beaches, turquoise waters of Magens Bay, and 319-acre watershed, attracts 300,000 visitors each year, enhancing the beauty of the Virgin Islands,” said Magens Bay Authority.
According to the Magens Bay Authority, a new facility will be constructed to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), International Building (IBC) and territorial codes. Plans for the new elevated structure are designed to meet ADA and flood-plain requirements with a ramp and sidewalk to meet requirements.
The federal share for the bathhouse project is $3 million and the non-federal share is $342,690.
The turquoise waters of Magens Bay stand out amid two emerald-green peninsulas on the north end of St. Thomas. FEMA will provide $3 million for Magens Bay Authority to replace a demolished bathhouse damaged at Magens Bay Beach by hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. FEMA photo
Agency Announces First Selections Awarded for Two Mitigation Grant Programs
WASHINGTON -- FEMA is expediting mitigation grant selections and assistance to help states, local communities, tribes and territories enhance disaster resiliency sooner.
States, local communities, tribes and territories may use this grant for mitigation planning, adoption and enforcement of building codes and standards, project scoping and small-scale mitigation projects.
FEMA is also announcing selections of 20 diverse communities, tribes and territories set to receive non-financial direct technical assistance to help build community-wide resilience. In this assistance, FEMA provides free support for mitigation projects and application-specific needs to underserved communities that may encounter barriers when trying to access Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs.
“We are excited about this opportunity to provide support at the earliest stages to communities, which may not have the capacity to start the application process on their own,” said FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks. “FEMA looks forward to working with these communities to find solutions to make them more resilient and reduce the impacts of climate change.”
These selections will help FEMA set a baseline to achieving the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which prioritizes delivering at least 40% of the overall benefits of federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
FEMA will make the second round of project selections later this summer. The announcement will include more complex projects like those from BRIC’s national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance community-wide flood mitigation projects.
These are the first selections of $1.16 billion in the FMA and BRIC funding that FEMA announced in August. The programs provide funds to states, local communities, tribes and territories for eligible mitigation and planning activities. They strengthen our nation’s ability to build a culture of preparedness and promote and sustain a prepared nation.
The first round of selections may be viewed on FEMA.gov.
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
For the first round, FEMA has selected 316 subapplications for further review totaling $65.7 million across each state and territory, including 55 tribes. Most of the selections are for capability and capacity building projects specifically for project scoping, planning, partnerships and building codes.
Examples of a wide variety of subapplication selections include relocating 10 homes in the Native Village of Napakiak in Alaska, project scoping a bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi and completing a flood study of the Lower Brandywine River and developing a mitigation strategy for future flooding in Delaware.
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Direct Technical Assistance
FEMA selected 20 communities to receive non-financial Direct Technical Assistance. This helps communities submit high-quality grant applications to reduce disaster damage, carry out risk-reduction projects and sustain successful mitigation programs.
FEMA Region
State
Jurisdiction
Request
1
Maine
Town of Tremont
Assistance with identifying potential projects to help the town address sea level rise on the island.
1
Rhode Island
Woonsocket
Assistance with addressing inland flooding through project scoping, which will aim to protect the lives, property, critical facilities and infrastructure, and resources of Woonsocket.
2
New Jersey
Borough of Oceanport
Assistance to conduct specific hazard mitigation activities to mitigate future storm surges.
2
New York
City of Jamestown
Assistance to develop a holistic and equitable climate action plan and project scoping to address flooding in the community.
2
Puerto Rico
Municipality of Canóvanas
Assistance with identifying viable mitigation measures to protect this flood prone community.
3
Maryland
City of Crisfield
Assistance with addressing the city’s coastal flooding and storm surge challenges.
3
Pennsylvania
City of Philadelphia
Assistance with addressing the flooding hazards caused by sea level rise.
4
Alabama
City of Birmingham
Assistance with grants management assistance and project scoping activities to support the city’s drainage systems.
4
Kentucky
Robertson County
Assistance with conducting project scoping activities to address challenges with landslides.
5
Michigan
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
Assistance with developing an improved risk assessment and green infrastructure design criteria that meet multiple goals for hazard mitigation, cultural preservation, and protection of critical infrastructure and ecosystems.
5
Minnesota
Red Lake Nation
Assistance with grants management training to develop projects needed after the town of Red Lake was hit by two EF1 tornadoes in 2021.
6
Arkansas
Crawford County
Assistance with identifying sustainable, cost effective, nature-based solutions to protect against future flooding, and match the mitigation solution with appropriate funding.
6
Louisiana
St. John the Baptist Parish
Assistance with project prioritization to address the significant flood risk the parish faces.
7
Iowa
City of Cherokee
Assistance to implement nature-based solutions and develop a local mitigation partnership network.
7
Kansas
City of Manhattan
Assistance with conceptualizing projects to reduce flooding through focused regenerative agriculture.
8
Montana
Chippewa Cree Tribe
Assistance with a solar array project to connect to a micro-grid which will supply power to multiple buildings.
9
California
City of Modesto
Assistance with performing benefit-cost analyses for mitigation projects related to the Tuolumne River floodway.
9
California
Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians
Assistance with updating the tribe’s hazard mitigation plan, assessing mitigation and risk reduction needs and developing an economic resilience planning process.
10
Alaska
Native Village of Ouzinkie
Assistance with conceptualizing a tsunami shelter project.
10
Oregon
Town of Butte Falls
Assistance with conceptualizing projects intended to improve water and wastewater resilience as well as develop capacity for building planning.
Flood Mitigation Assistance
For the first round, FEMA has selected 22 subapplications for further review totaling $25.5 million across five states. The majority of the selections are to elevate repetitively flood-damaged buildings insured under the National Flood Insurance Program that will benefit socially vulnerable households.
Other subapplications for further review included capacity and capability building activities such as project scoping, planning and technical assistance.
Examples of subapplication projects selected include elevating more than 70 buildings in Ascension, New Iberia, Rapides and St. Tammany parishes in Louisiana and project scoping a housing complex in East Harlem, New York that has been vulnerable to flooding.
As FEMA is reviewing the second round of selections to be announced this summer, there will be a greater focus and priority on socially vulnerable communities.
FEMA remains committed to investing in mitigation. Important elements of our grant programs are aligned to build a culture of preparedness and promote and sustain a prepared nation by reducing disaster losses and protecting life and property from disaster damage.
FEMA helps applicants keep their spending on track by sending a determination letter stating what the funds are for and listing the ways the money can be used. Disaster grants are not for regular living expenses.
Some examples of approved expenses include:
Home repairs (e.g., structure, water, septic and sewage systems)
Rental assistance for rent and/or deposit
Repair or replacement of an essential vehicle
Medical or dental care for an uninsured injury caused by the disaster
Moving and storage expenses related to the disaster
Replacement of essential personal property such as appliances or beds from an occupied bedroom
Increased childcare expenses
It’s important to read the determination letter carefully. Disaster funding may be subject to audits. Keep all receipts for at least three years. If grant payments are spent on anything other than its intended purpose, applicants may be denied disaster assistance in the future. In some cases, FEMA will ask that the money be returned.
In addition, it’s important for applicants to make sure that FEMA has their most up-to-date contact information, including addresses, phone numbers and bank accounts. If FEMA does not have the correct contact information, applicants may miss letters or phone calls about their application for assistance or payment status.
To address many of the common myths and rumors during the New Mexico wildfires, FEMA activated a rumor/myth webpage on the disaster homepage. Visit the FAQ/Rumor page at fema.gov/nm-rumors.
For any questions, call the FEMA Helpline, 800-621-3362. Those who use a relay service such as a videophone, should update FEMA with their specific number assigned to that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).
FRANKFORT, Ky. – FEMA has approved $2,409,846 to reimburse Marshall County for expenses paid for the collection and proper disposal of storm debris after the Dec. 10-11, 2021, tornadoes.
Marshall County hired a contractor to remove and dispose of vegetative debris between Dec. 27 and Jan. 25. The work and costs associated with the Marshall County debris removal project include expenses for labor, equipment, material and contract costs.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants on a cost share basis to reimburse state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for the cost of debris removal, emergency protective measures and permanent repair work.
Because of the magnitude of damage from the tornadoes, President Biden in January authorized a cost share adjustment to 100% federal funding for debris removal for a 30-day period of the commonwealth’s choosing (Dec. 27 – Jan. 25).
FEMA’s award is paid directly to the commonwealth to disburse to agencies, local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations that incurred costs.
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