GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – As Puerto Rico continues to recover from hurricanes Irma and María, FEMA and the Commonwealth have agreed to approve a second extension for assistance under the agency’s Individual and Households program through Nov. 30, 2019.
The deadline to provide financial aid to help survivors with disaster-related damage who currently participate in FEMA’s individual assistance programs has been extended for 70 days. Survivors who are planning to appeal their eligibility determination or submit documents related to their case now have until Nov. 30 to do so.
Documents can be submitted in the following ways:
- By mail to FEMA, PO Box 10055, Hyattsville MD 20782-8055
- By fax to 800-827-8112
- In person at a Community Recovery Center
- Uploaded to the survivor’s Disaster Account Center at disasterassistance.gov
FEMA encourages survivors who have not received a settlement from their insurance provider for their claims to submit their insurance determination letter by the deadline for evaluation and to possibly receive assistance. FEMA may provide assistance to help meet survivors’ immediate needs if their insurance settlements are delayed 30 days or more from the date their claim was filed or if their insurance settlement was insufficient to cover their disaster-related losses.
Normally, the deadline for the program is 18 months from the declaration date, but because of extenuating circumstances after Hurricane Maria it was extended to 26 months. To date, over $1.3 billion have been approved to assist survivors during their recovery process under FEMA’s Individuals and Households program, which includes temporary rental assistance, funds to repair or replace disaster-damaged homes and other immediate needs after the storm.
FEMA’s housing programs, like Rental Assistance that offers temporary shelter while disaster survivors find a safe and habitable place to live, are not meant to be permanent housing solutions. FEMA continues to contact survivors to help them develop a long-term housing plan. Currently, staff is available at Community Recovery Centers across the island to help connect families who have unmet needs with voluntary organizations that may offer additional resources and to provide assistance.
To find your nearest Community Recovery Center, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339/CRC or call 800-621-3362. For Spanish press 2. People who use a TDD may call 800-462-7585. The helpline is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362) 711/VRS - Video Relay Service). Multilingual operators are available. (Press 2 for Spanish). TTY call 800-462-7585.
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