CRANSTON, R.I. – If you live in Kent, Providence or Washington counties and lost access to water because a private well or septic system was damaged, or if your furnace or heating system was damaged by the severe storms and flooding on December 17-19, 2023, or January 9-13, 2024, you may be eligible for financial assistance under FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.
For private wells, heating systems, furnaces and septic systems, FEMA may provide assistance to cover the cost of a licensed contractor, or a professional licensed technician visit to provide a repair or replacement estimate, even if the work has already been completed.
FEMA may also pay for the actual repair or replacement cost of your septic system or private well, which are not insurable items. At the time of your inspection, let the FEMA inspector know you have a private well and/or septic system that may have been damaged by the storm. If the damage is determined to be caused by the disaster, you may be eligible for FEMA assistance.
If you have already had an inspection and damage to the well or septic system wasn’t reported, contact the FEMA Helpline to receive instructions about how to amend your application.
If you have applied for FEMA assistance and have not had a home inspection, you should call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362. Help is available in most languages. If you use video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service. Phone lines operate from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. seven days a week.
For the latest information visit 4765 | FEMA.gov or 4766 | FEMA.gov. Follow FEMA on X, formerly known as Twitter, at twitter.com/femaregion1 and at facebook.com/fema.
For updates on the Rhode Island response and recovery, follow the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency on Twitter at twitter.com/RhodeIslandEMA, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandEMA, or visit www.riema.ri.gov.