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FEMA, SBA Assistance Tops $8.1 Million for Alabama Tornado Survivors

Release Date:
Tháng 2 15, 2023

PRATTVILLE, Ala.– Just 30 days after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the state of Alabama following the Jan. 12 severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes, more than $8.1 million in federal assistance has been provided by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support disaster recovery here. 

Homeowners and renters whose homes and property were damaged by the storms, and who still need to apply for federal assistance, have until March 16, 2023, to do so.

As of Feb. 15, Alabama’s recovery assistance includes:

  • More than $4.6 million in FEMA’s Individual and Households Program (IHP) grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in 10 Alabama counties. These grants help pay for uninsured and underinsured losses and storm-related damage, including:
  • More than $3.6 million in FEMA housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing.
  • More than $958,000 in Other Needs Assistance grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious storm-related needs—such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses.
  • More than $3.5 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans from the SBA for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations to repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and to cover economic injury from the Jan. 12 storms and tornadoes.

The 10 Alabama counties designated for Individual Assistance in this disaster are: Autauga, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Morgan, Mobile, Sumter and Tallapoosa.

  • The state and FEMA have staffed and operated 11 Disaster Recovery Centers in nine counties that provide one-on-one assistance to survivors. The centers have tallied more than 1,285 visits by survivors.  

Recovery specialists from FEMA, state and the U.S. Small Business Administration at the recovery centers provide information on available services, explain assistance programs, and help survivors complete or check the status of their applications for assistance. No appointment is necessary to visit a Disaster Recovery Center. Walk-ins are welcome. All centers are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Saturday.

  • FEMA has sent Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams to storm-affected neighborhoods in every designated county. These teams travel door-to-door in hard-hit neighborhoods helping survivors apply for assistance. DSA teams visit homes, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to help residents apply for assistance, identify, and address immediate and emerging needs, and make referrals to other local, state, and voluntary agencies for additional support.
    • These teams provide information on resources available from federal and state governments, nonprofit organizations, and the faith-based community to help address immediate needs.
    • To date, DSA personnel have interacted with more than 4,050 survivors; and have helped more than 645 households apply for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program. They visited more than 300 businesses. FEMA is working to remove barriers to assistance, ensuring all survivors have equal access to disaster aid and resources.
      • No one’s background or primary language is a barrier to receiving FEMA financial assistance. FEMA offers help in many languages available through our call centers to assist caseworkers and processing staff to provide customer service to non-English speaking applicants. Operators are available by phone from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time daily.
      • FEMA is providing timely translation of information and resources into Spanish.

FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program reimburses counties, the state and certain nonprofits for eligible costs of disaster-related debris removal, emergency protective measures and repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities, such as roads, bridges, public utilities, including water treatment and electrical plants, government buildings and parks.

Eleven Alabama counties have been designated for some form of Public Assistance.

  • Greene and Sumter counties have been designated for PA categories A and B: debris removal and emergency protective services.
  • Autauga, Barbour, Chambers, Conecuh, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Hale and Tallapoosa have been designated for categories A-G. These categories include debris removal and emergency protective services and the restoration of disaster-damaged facilities.

PA is at a 100% federal cost share for categories A and B of the total eligible costs for a 30-day period of the State’s choosing within the first 120 days of Jan. 12, 2023. 

For information on Alabama’s disaster recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4684. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.

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