Pennsylvania Recovery Six Months Since Ida Hit

Release Date Release Number
Pennsylvania Recovery Six Months Since Ida Hit
Release Date:
March 11, 2022

HARRISBURG, PA. – Six months have passed since a major federal disaster was declared for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania after the remnants of Hurricane Ida left many Pennsylvanians with loss and damage. On September 10, 2021, President Biden signed the declaration that allowed FEMA to assist. The declaration provided Individual Assistance (IA) for eight (8) counties: Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and York, and Public Assistance for twelve: Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Fulton, Luzerne, Montgomery, Huntington, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York counties

 

The registration period for individuals to apply for FEMA assistance ended on Jan. 10, 2022. In that time, more than 83,000 households applied. As a result, between FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the National Flood insurance Program, more than $265 Million in federal assistance was approved for Pennsylvanians for repairs and other disaster-caused needs.

 

  • More than $88.2 million in Individual Assistance grants for housing assistance.
  • More than $28.6 million in grants for Other Needs Assistance to homeowners and renters to repair or replace certain household items, pay for disaster-related medical and dental expenses, and certain other disaster-related expenses.
  • The U.S. Small Business Administration approved more than $53.6 million in low-interest disaster loans for 1,150 households and 79 businesses to repair and replace damaged property and contents.
  • The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) paid policyholders more than $94.7 million for 1,827 claims filed to repair and rebuild flood-damaged property and contents.
  • The Disaster Recovery Centers closed on November 20. During their mission, 1,712 survivors visited the centers.
  • During their mission which ended Oct. 5, Disaster Survivor Assistance teams canvassed neighborhoods in all eight designated counties. They visited 5.330 homes and met with 2,172 survivors.

 

Disaster response really does involve the whole community, including local, state, and federal agencies, the private sector, nonprofit, voluntary, and faith-based organizations. Volunteers continue their work to help Pennsylvanians who were impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Ida get back to a more normal life.

The following agencies have engaged in assisting survivors of the disaster: Pennsylvania VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster); Southeastern PA VOAD (SEPA VOAD); York County VOAD; Northeastern PA VOAD (NEPA VOAD) ; American Red Cross; Salvation Army; United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR); United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries; Southern Baptist Convention; Pennsylvania SPCA; ACLAMO (Accíon Comunal Latino Americano de Montgomery County / Latin American Action Committee of Montgomery County); Team Rubicon; United Way 211; Lutheran Disaster Services; Lutheran Disaster Response; Presbyterian Disaster Response; Adventist Community Services; Chester County Food Bank; The Elevated Studio; Nationalities Service Center; and Philabundance.

 

FEMA’s Public Assistance Program (PA) is a grant program which provides funding to state and local governments and certain types of private nonprofit organizations for rebuilding necessary infrastructure following a presidential disaster declaration.

221 Requests for Public Assistance have been submitted for review. 213 have been approved.

  • Out of those applications, 566 unique projects have been created
  • 16 of those projects are currently with the Consolidated Resources Center for development.
  • 10 projects have been obligated, with a federal share of $1,547,736
  • The disaster recovery process is moving along well with Exploratory Calls (ECs) and Recovery Scoping Meetings (RSMs)
    • EC’s – 84% of approved ECs completed
    • RSM’s – 76% of approved RSMs completed

 

On February 28, 2022, FEMA approved a request from the Commonwealth to extend the use of emergency, non-congregate sheltering in the impacted Counties designated for Public Assistance through March 29, 2022

For updates on the Pennsylvania response and recovery, follow the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency twitter.com/PEMAHQ on Twitter and Facebook https://m.facebook.com/PEMAHQ/. Additional information is available at fema.gov/disaster/4618.

To learn more about the City of Philadelphia’s Response and Recovery to Ida, please visit: https://www.phila.gov/2021-09-02-city-responds-to-damage-and-flooding-from-storm-ida/

Call 800-659-2955 for information about SBA’s disaster assistance, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard of hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.

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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

 Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3

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