How can FEMA help me after a disaster?

You should read this to learn how FEMA can help you after a natural disaster. FEMA provides many kinds of aid after a disaster, including money, grants and loans that help with things like housing, repairs, transportation, personal property replacement and food.

The most important thing is to make sure you are safe and have all of your basic needs met. Use the Red Cross's Find An Emergency Shelter to find emergency shelters near you. You can also call the Red Cross 24 hours a day at 1-800-733-2767. Shelters are open to anyone. There are no income or citizenship requirements for emergency shelter.

Do not return to your home until it is safe. Returning to your home and documenting the damage are an important step to recovering from the disaster. But, this step can wait until after officials announce that it is safe to return.

Keep receipts for any extra living costs (like hotels, meals and transportation) for as long as you are unable to return home.

If you have insurance, call your insurance company to inform them of your loss. Be clear that you don't know the extent of the damage or how much it will cost to fix. You will need to follow up with written notice of your loss, including additional documentation. You will have time to figure out exactly what was damaged later. When you are ready to learn more about the insurance process, read How do I make insurance claims after a disaster?.

To stay updated about the disaster in your area, check the FEMA Disaster Declaration page. During and after a disaster, this webpage has live updates about when aid programs become available and when the Disaster Recovery Centers will be open if there will be any in your area.

Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are local places where you can get in-person help from FEMA. You can walk in to any local Disaster Recovery Centers that are open in your area. You can also schedule an appointment ahead of time. Check if there are any active Disaster Recovery Centers in Washington.

If you are a farmer, farmworker, rancher, or live in an agriculturally impacted community, check to see about special aid that may be available after a disaster from the USDA. Learn more about USDA Disaster Aid.

You can check online at the Washington FEMA page for Declared Disasters. Be sure to go back and check repeatedly. It can take days after a disaster happens before FEMA is able to officially declare the disaster publicly and start giving out aid.

There are many kinds of specific FEMA disaster related assistance. Most of these types of assistance are provided by one of two broader aid programs. The two main disaster aid programs are interconnected. They do share application data and benefits eligibility determinations. If you get aid from one of the two main types of programs, it can impact what kind of aid you can get from the other. These are the two main aid programs:

• Individual Assistance:

  Individual Assistance is the aid program that provides most kinds of disaster related aid to individuals and households. You can learn more about Individual Assistance and apply for the aid program at FEMA's Individual Assistance page.

• Small Business Administration Disaster Loans and Grants:

  The U.S. Small Business Administration and FEMA both provide aid after a disaster. Even though the Small Business Administration (SBA) runs the program, the Disaster Loan program does help disaster survivors who don't own businesses but still need recovery loans. This program helps individuals, families, communities, nonprofits, associations (like neighborhood associations), farms, ranches, and business owners (for businesses of all sizes).

  Often, homeowners, renters, businesses and neighborhood associations will use aid from both the FEMA programs and the SBA Disaster Loan assistance program. SBA Disaster loans are the main way homeowners and small businesses get aid to repair or replace property that insurance or other aid did not cover entirely. You don't have to be a small business owner to apply for a SBA Disaster Loan. The SBA Disaster Assistance program also includes Disaster Loans for homes and personal property.

  If a disaster caused you to suffer losses to your home, personal property, businesses (including nonprofits and associations), business income, or farm, you can apply for SBA Disaster loans. You can apply for a SBA Disaster Loan if you are renter, leaseholder or an owner. Despite the name, during disaster these special types of loans help individuals- not just businesses. And despite being from the Small Business Administration, these loans can be for businesses of any size.

FEMA provides many types of disaster assistance. Most of these types of assistance are interconnected and share application information. This helps get you the right kind of aid faster and avoids duplicative benefits for the same cost or reimbursement. This list includes some of the most common types of assistance. You can find the most accurate assistance information for your area by applying for FEMA aid. You can access most of these types of assistance through the FEMA Individual Assistance program application.

These are some of the types of FEMA Disaster aid you might qualify for:

• Disaster Unemployment Assistance: Read Can I get Disaster Unemployment Assistance to learn more.

• Displacement Assistance: Displacement Assistance is used to make essential home repairs and replacements, to find a temporary place to stay, and to repair or replace certain household items. "Essential" means things like a roof but not a garage. For example, hot water heaters are essential but dishwashers are not. You can include repairs to your home that were previously in need of repair but which the disaster made worse.

• Home Improvements and other special aid for People with Disabilities: People with disabilities can use FEMA aid to make their homes more accessible than they were before the disaster. You can also use disaster aid to repair any necessary accessibility features that were damaged by the disaster. This can include things like wheelchair ramps, grab bars, and paved pathways. These updates won't count against your federal Housing Assistance maximum. There are sometimes other special FEMA aid benefits you could get if you are disabled. Be sure to ask your FEMA agent or application worker about this if you are living with a disability.

• Serious Needs Assistance: Serious Needs Assistance is money to help you pay for immediate and important needs. You can use it buy things like food, water, baby formula, first aid, prescriptions, breastfeeding equipment, diapers, personal hygiene items, certain medical supplies and equipment, and fuel for transportation.

• Financial Assistance: You can get financial aid for many types of expenses related to the disaster. You may be limited to certain programs or certain program combinations to prevent duplicate benefits. You can get money to pay for:

  • Structural repairs to your damaged home including things like roof replacement, windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings, cabinets, heating and air systems, utilities, entrance/exit ways, mold removal, smoke damage repair, and hazard mitigation. Depending on the situation, FEMA might also reimburse you for repairing or replacing your furnace, well, and septic system.

  • Rental and lodging assistance money for temporary housing until you can return home. This can pay for motels, hotels, rent at a rental or to reimburse friends and family for giving you temporary housing. Certain lodging assistance will be limited depending on what other Displacement Assistance you may have received.

  • Repairing or replacing a vehicle damaged by or lost in the disaster. The vehicle being repaired or replaced must be your vehicle. You must not have another vehicle you can use.

  • Moving and storage costs while you are displaced because of the disaster.

• Costs related to other types of emergency supplies

• Repairing or replacing privately-owned roads, bridges, docks and other access ways that were damaged by the disaster (and were your only access way to your home)

• Replacing personal property including home appliances, electronics, phones, computers, books, uniforms, clothes, glasses, tools, furniture, protective equipment, and other necessary personal property

• Medical or dental expenses related to the disaster. You can also use this money to help pay for replacements for medical/dental equipment, breastfeeding equipment, or prescribed medicine that was damaged or lost because of the disaster.

• Funeral or reburial expenses caused by the disaster

• Childcare costs or increase in costs caused by the disaster

• Miscellaneous items related to the disaster recovery like renting a generator, or purchasing a dehumidifier or chainsaw.

• Buying special Flood Insurance or other special disaster insurance through FEMA (these kinds of insurance could be necessary for a home rebuild loan after a disaster)

• Cleaning and sanitizing of your home and property. This benefit has more limited eligibility than others.

There may be other types of programs available to you depending on your situation and the disaster. You could get special disaster Mass Care and Emergency Aid, Crisis Counseling, Case Management and Legal Services. Additional kinds of aid could be available to you. Learn more about all the types of FEMA Disaster aid programs .

Yes, you can still apply for FEMA Aid even if you have insurance. FEMA can help you with things your insurance does not cover. You may need to give FEMA a copy of your insurance policy. FEMA will not cover your insurance deductible.

Yes. You can apply for FEMA aid programs even if you also have applied for insurance claims for the same disaster. You just can't get fully reimbursed for the same property replacement or repair from both FEMA and your insurance.

FEMA can't pay for costs that your insurance will pay for. But FEMA may be able to offer you loan or aid programs to cover costs beyond what insurance will cover or for costs that insurance denies. There are benefit aid programs that FEMA may be able to offer you that your insurance can't. When you get a settlement or denial from your insurance company, you should update your FEMA application.

Yes. FEMA can help you with a hotel bill. They might pay the bill for you or give you funds to help pay. Check FEMA's list of list of participating hotels. You will need your FEMA registration number to check the list. To get your FEMA registration number, you need to apply for FEMA aid. If your hotel is not on the list, save your hotel bill. Ask for FEMA reimbursement after you check out.

Yes. They can help with rent at a new place if the disaster damaged your home. Rent assistance is available to both renters and homeowners. They can help you with at least one month's rent at a new place.

Yes, if you own your home. FEMA can provide homeowners some help to make your home safe, sanitary, and functional. Homeowners with good credit and enough income can usually get a government-backed loan to repair your home fully. If you do not have a deed in your name by the time you register with FEMA, you may need to clear up ownership of your property. You can get help to make repairs to your home that were needed prior to the disaster but which the disaster made worse.

Yes. They can give you money to replace personal belongings the disaster damaged or destroyed. FEMA can help you replace vehicles, furniture, appliances, clothing, electronics, phones, computers, tools, and other important personal property or things that you need for work, school, or self-employment.

Yes. FEMA can help with medical, dental, funeral, and transportation expenses, and other serious needs the disaster caused. FEMA will only cover these expenses if you can show that the disaster caused them. You may need a note from your doctor saying the disaster caused your medical or dental expenses. You may need receipts or documentation for any other expense caused by the disaster.

Yes. You or your neighborhood association can apply for FEMA Assistance and SBA Disaster Loans to help repair shared ways of access like bridges, docks, or private roads. If the access way is yours alone, you should apply by yourself. But if it is a shared access way, you may be able to apply as a group with your neighbors who also need the access way. If you don't have a neighborhood association that can apply, talk to FEMA or the SBA about how you and your neighbors can apply for help replacing things like shared private roads, bridges and docks.

No. You can get FEMA assistance and it won't affect your SSI, SSDI Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps or other federal benefits.

FEMA disaster assistance and grants are not taxable income. So you won't be taxed for the income from FEMA. Also, you may be eligible for a disaster related tax deduction for losses you experienced because of the disaster. Usually this is called a "casualty loss deduction".

You should read How do I replace important documents I lost in a disaster?

You can start your application for FEMA assistance without having your documents. After applying you may have to provide proof of your identity, your ownership or occupancy, or other personal information. You can send proof of your replacement documents to FEMA once you receive them. Usually you can upload the replacement copies to your Disaster Assistance account at DisasterAssistance.gov.

To apply for disaster assistance, you will need:

• Your Social Security number

• Insurance information (if you have insurance)

• A description of the damage and lost property

• Your annual household income

• Contact information

• Statement about your reasonable accommodation request or language access request if you need to make that kind of request

You can apply in person, online, using the FEMA app, or on the phone.

To apply in person, go to the nearest Disaster Recovery Center. Check if there are any active Disaster Recovery Centers in Washington.

To apply on the phone, you can call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. PT every day. (TTY: 1-800-462-7585). Help is available in many languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service. You can also call the FEMA Helpline number for help with any step in the process after you apply

To apply online, you can start your application at DisasterAssistance.gov. There is also a FEMA mobile app you can download and use to apply. FEMA's Road to Recovery is a step by step toolkit guide that explains the recovery aid application process in greater detail.

You might need more help with recovery or with the application process due to disability or language access needs. If you need a reasonable accommodation related to a disability or language access needs, you can ask a staff member at your local Disaster Recovery Center for help with accommodations requests.

You can also notify FEMA staff at any point during the application process that you need a reasonable accommodation, even if you are applying on the phone. There is no specific form required for you to make a reasonable accommodation request. Your request does not have to be in writing.

You can submit a disability related accommodation request by email to FEMA's Office of Equal Rights at FEMACivilRightsOffice@fema.dhs.gov or by calling FEMA's Civil Rights Resource line at 1-833-285-7448. You can also use that email address and phone number to submit requests for accommodations related to language access and to ask for interpretations or translations.

FEMA should provide translations, interpreters, mobility assistance, reasonable accommodations and sign language interpretation when able. FEMA regularly provides the following services for all disaster survivors:

• American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter and/or Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)

• Real time captioning services, remote or in-person

• Assistive listening and/or reading devices

• Documentation in Braille and/or large print

• Physical accessibility components (such as wheelchair, restrooms, paths of travel) for FEMA facilities, including at Disaster Recovery Centers

• Translation services in 250 languages

You can get more information about reasonable accommodations by calling the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

If FEMA denies your Reasonable Accommodation request and you believe the denial was wrongful or otherwise unfair, you can appeal. Submit an appeal to the FEMA Office of Equal Rights (OER), External Civil Rights Division (ECRD). The appeal is called a "Civil Rights Complaint". Read more about how to submit an appeal (Civil Rights Complaint) through FEMA's External Civil Rights Division. Even though your original Reasonable Accommodation request does not have to be written, your appeal will have to be written and signed. There may also be a required form.

When you finish applying, you will be given a FEMA Registration number. Write this down or otherwise record this number in safe place. You will need it repeatedly.

After you apply, you will receive a determination letter from FEMA. If you can't access your mail, the letter might also be available in your online FEMA account portal. Note your application and disaster numbers. Usually these numbers are printed on page 1 of your determination letter, above your name and address. Each disaster will have its own specific "disaster number" for FEMA that usually looks something like this: "DR-1234-WA". Your application number is specific to you.

The determination letter will describe what benefits you are eligible for and should tell you what the next steps are. Follow what the letter says to start getting your benefits.

You might get a letter that says you are ineligible for benefits. If that happens, there is often a simple solution that will make you eligible once you are able to provide what FEMA asks for. The letter should tell you why you are not eligible and what you need to do. Usually you will need to provide more information. Once the required proof is provided to FEMA, your application can usually be reconsidered.

These are some of the common ways you can fix FEMA disaster benefits ineligibility determination issues:

• Providing insurance policy coverage documents that show that your coverage or settlement is not enough to provide for temporary housing, to make the repairs or replacements you need to make on your home, or to replace certain items.

• Providing documentation that proves your occupancy at or ownership of the disaster affected residence. You can use copies of utility bills or leases in your name. If you own your home, you can use bank, deed or mortgage records to prove that you live at the address that you applied for benefits for.

• Providing documentation that the damaged home was your primary residence. A copy of your ID listing the residential address can be proof. Other proof could be a lease copy, utility bill copies and other recent bills in your name to that address.

• Proving that you applied for and were denied a Small Business Administration Disaster Loan can often make you eligible for FEMA benefits that you were originally denied for.

• If you can't fix the determination of ineligibility by providing extra proof, you can appeal the determination if you think the determination was wrong. Continue reading to learn about how to submit an appeal of your FEMA benefits eligibility determination.

This means you may not qualify for other types of FEMA Disaster Assistance unless you apply for the SBA Disaster Loans and are denied. You should apply for the SBA Disaster Loans if you think it is right for your situation or if you want to proceed with trying to get other FEMA Disaster assistance.

For some types of FEMA Disaster aid, you must be denied an SBA Disaster Loan before you can qualify to get FEMA assistance. You should read Can I get a Small Business Administration Disaster Loan to learn more about SBA Disaster Loans.

If you disagree with the amount or type of the assistance you were determined to be eligible for, you can appeal. Your determination letter should have included information about your rights to appeal and how to do so.

These are the steps for submitting an appeal of your FEMA eligibility determination:

1. Make a copy of the determination letter to send back to FEMA with your appeal. Keep the original determination letter copy for your records.

2. Write an explanation of why you think FEMA's decision is wrong.

3. Provide any copies of documents that help your appeal, including proof of your actual losses from the disaster.

4. Sign the written appeal.

5. Include a copy of the determination letter with your appeal.

6. Make sure the written appeal includes this information on all the documents:

   • Your full name

   • Your FEMA application number and your FEMA disaster number

   • Your pre-disaster primary residence (this is usually the home that was damaged)

   • Your current phone number and contact information

   • Your current temporary address and mailing address

7. Submit your appeal. You can do this by mail, fax or online. Make sure it will arrive to FEMA before the 60th day from the date on your determination letter.

   You can mail the appeal packet of documents and your signed appeal letter to this address. If your determination letter lists a different address for appeals, use that address instead.

       FEMA National Processing Service Center
       P.O. Box 10055 Hyattsville, MD 20782-7055

   You can submit your appeal documents and signed letter via fax to 1-800-827-8112.

   You can upload your appeal documents and signed letter online at your disasterassistance.gov online portal if you have made a FEMA online account.

8. Check the mail for the response to your appeal. You will receive follow up communication from FEMA about your appeal. You could receive a new determination letter with different benefit amounts or types than you were previously granted. Or you will receive a letter explaining why your appeal was denied.

   If your appeal was denied, you could try to seek legal help to see if you have any further options to get a new determination of FEMA disaster aid benefits.