WILLISTON, VT – Federal funds are available for affected individuals who suffered damage to their homes or personal property caused by the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in nine counties: Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor.
FEMA is in the community, offering survivors many ways to apply for assistance and work with a FEMA representative about their case.
How to apply:
To apply for disaster assistance, survivors can:
- Visit DisasterAssistance.gov;
- Download the FEMA mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store;
- Call FEMA’s toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362, open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time and language translation is available. If you use a relay service such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or other services, give FEMA your number for that service when you apply; or
- Connect with FEMA in person at a Disaster Recovery Center, a Business Recovery Center, in your community canvasing door to door and at Multi-Agency Resource Centers located throughout the impacted area.
Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC)
Disaster Recovery Centers offer in-person support to individuals and small business owners. Recovery specialists from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and additional resources are available to assist survivors.
- Two Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Rutland and Washington counties. The locations are:
- ASA Bloomer Building, 88 Merchants Row, Rutland, VT 05701
- Waterbury Armory, 294 Armory Drive, Waterbury, VT 05676
- Barre Auditorium, 16 Auditorium Hill, Barre, VT 05641
- Flood Brook School, 91 Vermont – 11, Londonderry, VT 05148
Additional locations will be announced as they become operational. DRC locations and hours of operations can be found here DRC Locator (fema.gov/drc).
The centers can:
- Provide assistance with filling out applications;
- Update the status of a survivor’s application;
- Help submit additional documents to FEMA;
- Provide referral services to voluntary organizations who offer a variety of services to survivors; and
- Provide access to the U.S. Small Business Administration for loan help and customer service.
Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs):
A MARC is a single location where public and private organizations come together to help those affected by the disaster. MARCs are collaborative operations.
Locations and hours of operation can be found: https://vem.vermont.gov/flood/marc
Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA):
DSA teams from FEMA are going door-to-door in Vermont communities, canvassing neighborhoods and helping storm-affected residents apply for FEMA disaster assistance.
DSA crew members are visiting homes, schools, nonprofits and communities with limited access. They are also meeting with local officials and community leaders to identify disaster-related issues and unmet needs.
DSA teams can help survivors apply for assistance, update their information and assist with referrals to voluntary agency partners. They may give residents the opportunity to use a tablet to register or offer to enter information on their behalf. DSA staff wear a FEMA identification badge with their photograph.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA):
SBA has opened Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) in three locations to assist homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations who need help in applying for an SBA long-term, low-interest disaster loan:
- Washington County: 751 Granger Road Berlin, Vermont 05641
- Windsor County: 126 Main Street Ludlow, Vermont 05149
- Lamoille County: 29 Sunset Drive, Morrisville, VT 05661
For locations and hours of operation please visit: https://www.sba.gov/article/2023/07/17/sba-offers-disaster-assistance-businesses-residents-vermont-affected-recent-severe-storms-flooding
If you live in an undesignated county and have damage you can call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 to apply and if a designation for your county occurs, your application will begin to process.
For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4720. Follow the FEMA Region 1 account at Twitter twitter.com/FEMARegion1 or the Facebook page at facebook.com/FEMA.
For updates on the Vermont response and recovery, follow the Vermont Emergency Management Agency twitter.com/vemvt on Twitter and Facebook facebook.com/vermontemergencymanagement.
FEMA is committed to ensuring disaster assistance is accomplished equitably, without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. Any disaster survivor or member of the public may contact the FEMA Civil Rights Office if they feel that they are the victim of discrimination. FEMA’s Civil Rights Office can be contacted toll-free at 833-285-7448. Multilingual operators are available.