RALEIGH – If you are a North Carolina homeowner or renter whose home is damaged, unsafe, or inaccessible because of Hurricane Florence, resources are available to help get you on the road to recovery.
Do you have insurance? If you have a homeowner’s or flood insurance policy, file your insurance claim immediately before applying for disaster assistance. Get the process started quickly. The faster you file, the faster your recovery can begin.
If you cannot return to your home, or if you are unable to live in your home because of disaster damage, visit DisasterAssistance.gov, or call 800-621-3362 (800-462-7585 TTY) (multilingual operators are available—press 2 for Spanish) to determine if state, voluntary, and local organizations are in your community to address your immediate needs.
If you can return to your home and it is safe, has working power, water, and sewer or septic service, visit DisasterAssistance.gov to determine if state, voluntary, and local organizations are in your community can address any unmet needs.
Disaster assistance is available to affected individuals in Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett, Lenoir, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, and Wayne counties. Additional counties may be added later.
If you are in one of these counties, you will need the following to apply for assistance:
Social Security Number;
- Daytime telephone number;
- Current mailing address and address and zip code of the damaged property; and
- Insurance information, if available.
Although the federal government cannot make you whole, it may help your recovery move forward by providing grants for basic repairs to make your home safe, sanitary and secure.
FEMA assistance may also provide temporary help with a place for you and your family to stay while you build your recovery plan.
After registering for disaster assistance, you may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In times of disasters, the SBA offers low-interest loans for businesses, homeowners and renters. The SBA will contact you with information on how to apply. There’s no obligation to accept a loan, but you may miss out on the largest source of federal disaster recovery funds if you don’t submit an application.
Information about low-interest SBA disaster loans and application forms are available online at SBA.gov/disaster. You may also call 800-659-2955 or email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. If you use TTY, call 800-877-8339.
FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.