COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina renters who experienced losses due to Hurricane Florence, starting Sept. 8, 2018, may be eligible for disaster recovery assistance from FEMA as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration. Renters must have lived in disaster-declared counties including: Darlington, Florence, Chesterfield, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, Marlboro or Marion.
Survivors may be eligible for FEMA awards to help with such disaster-related expenses as:
- Rent to secure temporary housing while repairs are being made to pre-disaster primary home or while transitioning to permanent housing.
- Disaster-caused medical and dental expenses.
- Replacement or repair of essential personal property lost or damaged in the disaster such as appliances and furniture, textbooks and computers used by students and work equipment or tools used by the self-employed.
- Repair or replacement of a vehicle damaged by the disaster.
- Disaster-caused funeral and burial expenses.
FEMA awards are not loans and do not have to be repaid. They are not taxable income and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid, welfare assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or other programs.
Renters who sustained losses can:
- Call 800-621-3362 for more information. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Services may call 800-462-7585. Multilingual operators are available, press 2 for Spanish. The toll-free numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, seven days a week.
- Download and use the FEMA mobile app, available for Apple and Android mobile devices at www.fema.gov/mobile-app.
- Renters also can register with FEMA at a Disaster Recovery Center. To find the nearest center go online to www.fema.gov/DRC.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers renters who qualify a low-interest disaster loan of up to $40,000 to repair or replace disaster damaged personal property.
SBA staff is available at all Disaster Recovery Centers and SBA Business Recovery Centers to assist in completing and submitting an SBA disaster loan application.
For more information about disaster loans, call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. TTY users may call 800-877-8339. Applicants also may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application located on SBA’s secure website at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
For more information on Hurricane Florence and the South Carolina recovery, visit the SC Emergency Management Division website at scemd, on social media (@SCEMD on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), or FEMA’s Hurricane Florence disaster webpage at fema.gov/disaster/4394, or Facebook at facebook.com/FEMA, and the FEMA Region 4 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion4.