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Federal disaster assistance comes in many forms

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The registration numbers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual assistance after flooding on June 23 continued to climb on Monday, but a FEMA spokesperson said he believed many more people were eligible for help.

The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Elkview, one of six such sites operating in West Virginia as of Monday, is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Even if people have previously contacted an emergency manager in their county or a fire department or someone else, they still need to register with FEMA,” said Thomas Kempton, public information officer for FEMA in Charleston.

As of Monday morning, more than 5,200 households were registered

“I think it’s probably low,” Kempton told MetroNews of that number.

“I think people still don’t realize that’s the way they have to do it. They may be previously registered with the state or with their local emergency managers and didn’t realize they also need to register with FEMA.”

Applications were being accepted at six Disaster Recovery Centers operating in West Virginia on Monday at the following locations:

— Roane County: Geary Elementary School, 9538 Clay Road, Left Hand

— Summers County: Summers County Memorial Building Gym, 451 1st Avenue, Hinton

— Greenbrier County: Rainelle Town Hall, 201 Kanawha Avenue, Rainelle

— Greenbrier County: Southeastern Labor Council, AFL-CIO, 65 West Main Street, White Sulphur Springs

— Kanawha County: Kanawha County Schools Crede Warehouse, 3300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Charleston

— Nicholas County: Richwood City Hall, 6 White Avenue, Richwood

Hours were from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Plans were in the works for similar Disaster Recovery Centers, with specific sites to be announced later, in both Clay County and Webster County.

Applications can also be completed by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

More than $10 million in individual assistance had already been approved for West Virginia residents as of Monday morning.

Such funding can be used in a number of ways. Here are some examples:

— Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable. Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one month for renters. Assistance may be extended if requested after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements.

— Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional.

— Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs.

— Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals.

— Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance.

Other relief programs could include crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster, income tax assistance for filing casualty losses and advisory assistance for legal, veterans’ benefits and Social Security matters.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Small Business Administration was scheduled to open two Business Recovery Centers in West Virginia.

At those sites, owners of flooded businesses will be able to meet individually with SBA representatives to learn about and apply for low-interest disaster loans.  Damaged nonprofits and churches could also potentially qualify for such help.

Interest rates are as low as four percent for businesses and 2.625 percent for nonprofits with terms of up to 30 years.

The Business Recovery Center sites announced were in Greenbrier County at the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation, 804 Industrial Park, Suite 5, Maxwelton and in Kanawha County at the Charleston Area Alliance, 1116 Smith Street, Charleston.

Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets, according to the SBA.

Additionally, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations to help meet working capital needs caused by the flood.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether a business suffered any physical property damage.

“We want everybody to be able to operate as they operating prior to the disaster,” said Mary Gipson, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance.





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