FRANKFORT Ky, -- Since the end of the FEMA application period on Oct. 28, the agency has approved more than $3 million to survivors of Eastern Kentucky flooding. This is in addition to the $82.1 million already approved prior to the application deadline. FEMA is still here and help is still available.
These funds were approved through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) which provides funds directly to applicants to help with a wide range of necessary expenses and serious needs not paid by insurance or other sources. The IHP can provide money for everything from home repair to moving and storage expenses and even childcare. FEMA assistance is not a replacement for insurance but can assist Kentuckians with basic needs to help start their recovery.
Applicants who still have serious disaster-related needs should please reach out to the agency and stay engaged in their recovery. Something as simple as a phone number change or a missed inspection can slow the assistance process. If FEMA cannot contact survivors, an application may be deemed ineligible.
For Kentucky flood survivors, the most common reasons applicants have been deemed ineligible for assistance are missed inspections or no response to FEMA’s attempts to contact them. More than 2,000 homeowners and renters are currently ineligible for these reasons alone.
Since the first week of the disaster, FEMA IHP specialists have been calling survivors directly, requesting missing information, scheduling inspections and eliminating roadblocks to receiving disaster assistance. Through this process, 2,097 applicants have become eligible for more than $22 million in FEMA assistance, proving that it pays to keep in touch with FEMA.
FEMA continues to reach out to applicants who were deemed ineligible for assistance. Since the end of the application period, FEMA has approved nearly $62,000 in assistance for 13 households just from those phone calls.
FEMA staff are still here in Kentucky—and just a phone call away— to help disaster survivors with questions about their application and the appeals process.
How do you take charge of your recovery?
Survivors can still visit a Disaster Recovery Center to get updates about their application, check the status of their claim or learn about the appeals process directly from a FEMA specialist. To find the nearest recovery center, visit www.fema.gov/drc.
Kentuckians don’t have to visit a recovery center for help. They can also get help the following ways:
- Calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362
- Logging into their account at DisasterAssistance.gov
- Using the FEMA Mobile App
For more information on Kentucky flood recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4663. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.