FEMA providing flood mitigation advice, asking for last minute damage
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Federal Emergency Management Agency workers are in Harrisburg Rural King this week to provide information to those who experienced property damage from the severe storms and flooding in late April and early May.
Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. today, Thursday and Friday FEMA officials will be at Harrisburg Rural King to give cost-effective mitigation advice to those who had property losses.
"Mitigation to a home is taking steps to reduce future damage. It may be as simple as raising washing machine, dryer and furnace in the basement to moving a home," FEMA spokesman Carl Henderson said.
Those with damage who have not reported to FEMA to receive compensation may call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. The deadline is Aug. 8 which is the 60-day mark from when the federal disaster declaration was made.
Henderson said is concerned that people may believe FEMA has their report if they have reported damage to county officials, legislators or voluntary agencies, but the report must be made directly to FEMA if they expect federal compensation.
Applicants should have the following information at the time they call:
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Current telephone number;</li>
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Address at the time of the disaster and the address where the resident is now staying;</li>
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Social Security Number, if available;</li>
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Name of the insurance company or agent and the policy number, if insured;</li>
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A general list of damages and losses;</li>
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Bank account routing number if the applicant prefers using direct deposit.</li>
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People may also contact FEMA online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by Web-enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov.
Residents covered by insurance should contact their insurance agents first and then apply with FEMA for assistance regarding uninsured losses.
Henderson said after the first contact with FEMA applicants should expect a couple of days for a FEMA damage assessor to visit their property and after that they typically receive compensation in three to five days.
Small business loans
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $2.3 million in U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Assistant Loans for residents affected by the storms and flooding between April 19 and June 14.
The SMA has approved 37 home and business low-interest disaster loans in the amount of $2,303,600. The SBA encourages those with damage who have not applied to do so by the Aug. 8 deadline.
The SBA can grant home loans and grants.
"There is a tendency for survivors to discard SBA disaster loan applications because they may not want a loan. However, homeowners and renters may risk missing out on grants by not returning completed applications to SBA," Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East in Atlanta, said in a prepared release.
For information about the SBA Disaster Loan Program people may call the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or 800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Loan application forms are available from www.sba.gov. Completed applications may be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155.
Survivors may fill out a loan application online by visiting SBA's Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/
The deadline to return SBA applications for physical property damage is Aug. 8 and the deadline to return applications for economic injury is March 7, 2012.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>
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