I want to first of all express my sincere condolences to all the victims of Hurricane Sandy. My prayers are for the families who have been affected and those who are working tirelessly to help those in need. To all the first- responders, National Guard, Police, Fire Fighters, volunteers and elected officials.
Here is a bit of information that you can find in the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) website. Many of you might not realize that there is disaster recovery assistance available to you. That is Individuals and businesses.
I will attempt to summarize what assistance is available.
What is Disaster Assistance?
FEMA defines Disaster Assistance as financial or direct assistance to individuals and families whose property has been damaged or destroyed as a result of a federally-declared disaster, and whose losses are not covered by insurance. It is meant to help you with critical expenses that cannot be covered in other ways. This assistance is not intended to restore your damaged property to its condition before the disaster.
Some of the funds are available through the Individuals and Households Program, a bulk of it comes from the Federal Government in the form of loans administered by the Small Business Administration.
Here is a list of some of the Disaster Assistance available from FEMA in the different areas:
Housing Needs
Other than Housing Needs
Money is available for necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster. This includes:
There is also the availability of Disaster Loans.
SBA (Small Business Administration) provides low interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery & equipment, inventory and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster.
I hope this is helpful information. Please take stock of your losses and the more prove of losses you have, the smoothest the process.
If you want to discuss this topic or others, please call me at 973-390-2926 or via email anibal@anibalalcantarajr.com