FEMA Helpline offers one-on-one, personal guidance for middle and west Tennessee homeowners and renters regarding their application for federal disaster assistance following the December 10-11, 2021, tornadoes. Call the FEMA Helpline at (800) 621-3362. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, and 3 for other languages. Specialists are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week.
Talk to FEMA
- If you think you should have heard from FEMA, have additional information to add to your file, or just want to see how your application is progressing, contact FEMA.
- A “no contact for inspection” is the most common reason renters and homeowners are found ineligible for FEMA Housing Assistance. Let FEMA know before your home inspection appointment if you cannot be there. If you or your designated representative are not at your home when the inspector arrives for the appointment, your assistance will stop. So, please call FEMA first.
- It’s important to update FEMA about changes to your status, particularly your housing situation. All applicants should update FEMA about changes in insurance and contact information as soon as possible and as often as necessary. FEMA may need to contact you, and missing or wrong information could delay the delivery of assistance. When contacting FEMA, keep handy the nine-digit number assigned to you when you applied.
- FEMA encourages you to stay in touch to get answers to your questions in English, Spanish or other languages. You can ask about the status of your application or other topics ranging from home inspections to information on appealing FEMA’s eligibility determination or adding the name of someone to speak for the applicant.
- Call FEMA to let us know when you receive your insurance settlement. FEMA will then review your situation to see if there are disaster caused needs insurance didn’t cover that might be eligible.
- Don’t miss out on important information. Incoming calls from FEMA may show up as unlisted, private, out-of-state, or simply from an unfamiliar number. Maybe you didn’t answer the phone because you didn’t recognize the number. It could have been FEMA. So, call us back and find out.
Resources to stay in touch with FEMA:
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, Press 3 for other languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service. Helpline operators are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, daily.
- Log into your account at DisasterAssistance.gov.
- Use the FEMA mobile app, which can be easily downloaded to a smartphone and is also available in Spanish.
Additional Resources:
FEMA also provides free aids and services to support all Tennessee tornado survivors communicate with agency specialists and understand FEMA programs. Additional resources available include:
- Information available in Braille, large print, or audio
- Information available in accessible electronic formats on FEMA’s website
- Qualified sign language interpreters
- Qualified multilingual interpreters and information written in other languages.
If you need assistance to access a FEMA program, service or a program or service funded by FEMA, contact FEMA’s Civil Rights Resource Line at 833-285-7448. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish or send an email to: FEMA_CivilRightsOffice@fema.dhs.gov.
For more information on Tennessee’s disaster recovery, visit www.tn.gov/tema.html and www.fema.gov/disaster/4637. You may also follow FEMA on www.facebook.com/fema and Twitter@FEMARegion4.