Deadline for FEMA Assistance Extended by One Month

FEMA will be extending its deadline for its Individual Assistance program for individuals and families by about one month, to Jan. 28, 2013.

FEMA has responded with agility and flexibility to the challenges posed by Superstorm Sandy and I’m glad that the Agency has heeded calls for more time for people to apply for assistance as they work to recover.

The extension applies to Sandy survivors on Long Island, in New York City, and in several Hudson Valley counties.

According to FEMA, assistance for individuals and families can include money for rent, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance, including medical expenses, vehicle repair, and reimbursement for moving espenses and transportation costs.

This would be the second deadline extended by FEMA after Superstorm Sandy. The agency’s “Public Assistance Grants” for local municipalities received a one-month extension, until the end of the year.

Disaster assistance for small businesses, non-profits and religious institutions, including loans and grants, continue to have a Dec. 31 application deadline – I have been helping lead an effort to have that deadline extended, too, writing to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and participating in a bipartisan press conference last week. Mr. Fugate responded in a recent news report that he is open to extending the deadline but a decision has not been announced yet. 

To help small businesses, non-profits and religious institutions learn more about the assistance available to them, I am holding a forum featuring FEMA and the Small Business Administration, among other agencies, at 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 17 at the Baldwin Public Library.

Storm survivors can register for FEMA assistance by calling 800-621-3362, visiting www.disasterassistance.gov on a computer or visiting m.fema.gov on a smartphone. Constituents of my district may also contact her office for help applying.

Carolyn McCarthy is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.