FEMA aid sures $286 million for Hurricane Helene survivors

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As of Wednesday, FEMA has already granted more than $286 million in disaster assistance to victims of Hurricane Helene.

The agency also reports an additional $180 million in mission assignments to federal partners.

FEMA has approved over $48 million for more than 59,000 households in Georgia and $65 million for more than 80,000 households in South Carolina.

The agency urged people impacted by the storm to apply for disaster assistance after President Joe Biden’s major disaster declaration in Augusta and surrounding areas.

Deanne Criswell is on the ground directing FEMA’s response and recovery operations for the impacted states.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says more than 100,000 applications have been filed in Georgia.

With the focus on getting people ed for assistance, you can apply online at shelters and even door-to-door visits in the more impacted areas.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Nearly 7,000 federal personnel are deployed, including FEMA staff. To date, FEMA has shipped over 16.2 million meals, more than 13.9 million liters of water, 210 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to the region. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods across the affected states helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.

FEMA says it has a program that can help you if you lost essential items like food.

“They can use that fund for food and water perhaps and they can use that fund to perhaps purchase personal hygiene items, get people back to some kind of normal life and get them back on their feet,” said Michael Hart, a spokesperson for FEMA.

Included in the major disaster declaration are Columbia, Edgefield, Emanuel, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Screven and Washington counties.

The approval for aid comes just after FEMA expanded its individual assistance program this spring.

The first thing people will be eligible for is a one-time $750 Serious Needs Assistance payment to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies.

The money can be used to repair damage regardless of pre-existing conditions. It can also be used to make a damaged home handicap-accessible.

FEMA says it wants to encourage as many people to apply for help as possible and there’s been some misinformation about the $750 checks that’s making it harder to help people.

“Serious Needs Assistance was designed to reach people as quickly as possible, so they can purchase essential items while we continue to process their disaster application and determine what other assistance they may be eligible for,” said FEMA Director of Public Affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg.

Survivors can also apply for a low-interest small business loan at the same time as they apply for FEMA assistance.

FEMA will also consider all applicants for its serious needs assistance and displacement assistance programs.

MORE FROM NEWS 12:

• Region: Community updates from across CSRA
• Help: Free meals, water distribution and more for those in need in the CSRA
• Acts of kindness: Help flows in after Hurricane Helene
• Shelters: Where to go if Helene impacted you in the CSRA
• List: School, office, service closures due to impacts from Helene

FEMA is providing federal funds directly to families and small business owners impacted by the hurricane. But how long will take for the money to get to people in need of help sooner than later?

FEMA did not give us a timeline.

“Applications are reviewed daily to get help to survivors as quickly as possible,” said FEMA.

People can apply in four ways: online by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling 800-621-3362, on the FEMA App, or by visiting disaster recovery centers.

After ing, you may also get aid to repair storm damage to homes and replace property, as well as help finding a place to stay.

Here’s what you need to submit a FEMA claim:

• Your Social Security card.
• Your ID.
• All of your insurance information, meaning any coverage you have, from mobile home and car insurance to flood insurance.
• A list of all the damage.
• Records showing your income at the time of the damage.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• File a claim with your homeowner’s insurance first.
• FEMA only covers what your provider does not cover.
• Aid can also come in the form of reimbursement for things like additional childcare, lodging and cleanup tools like chainsaws.

Across the region affected by Helene, FEMA has already provided more than $10 million in flexible, upfront funding.

More than 4,800 personnel from across the federal workforce are deployed and more than 1,000 are from FEMA. To date, FEMA has shipped over 8.8 million meals, more than 7.4 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 225,000 tarps to the region.

FEMA says its teams are on the ground in Georgia, focusing on shelters where they will assist survivors in applying for assistance.

News 12 is working to whether those teams are in Richmond County.

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