California Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

Citizenship and FEMA Eligibility

FEMA is committed to helping all eligible disaster survivors recover from Hurricane Ian, including U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals and qualified aliens.

Learn more about Citizenship and Immigration Status Requirements for Federal Public Benefits

Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC)

Impacted survivors from the approved designated counties can visit the nearest DRC for help to apply for assistance. Representatives from FEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration are available at these centers to explain disaster assistance programs, answer questions about written correspondence and provide literature about repairs and rebuilding to make homes more disaster resistant.

Residents who previously registered for assistance do not need to visit the DRC, but can ask questions or seek further information in person at the DRC in addition to online or by phone.

• View local Disaster Recovery Centers near you

Save Your Family Treasures

FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution co-sponsor the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, a partnership of more than 60 national service organizations and federal agencies created to protect cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies.

The Task Force offers the following guidance to help you recover your family treasures from a disaster.

Learn More

How Do I Appeal the Final Decision?

If you receive a letter stating that you are ineligible for assistance or that your application is incomplete, you can still complete the application or appeal the decision within 60 days of receiving a decision letter. The letter would either be mailed to you or placed into your Disaster Assistance Center account, if you have set up an account.

Learn More on Appeals

Frequently Asked Questions and Rumors

Learn more about common disaster-related rumors and how to report fraud. You can also get answers to frequently asked questions about emergency shelters, disaster assistance, flood insurance and more.

Additional Multimedia

Below you can find social media graphics and images with important safety messaging in various languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.

• Disaster Support Social Graphics
• American Sign Language (ASL): FEMA Registration Process - Registration
• American Sign Language (ASL):  How to Register with Disaster Survivor Assistance
• American Sign Language (ASL):  Reasons to Apply for an SBA Loan
• American Sign Language (ASL):  Renters May be Eligible for Federal Help
• American Sign Language (ASL):  Understanding Your Letter

Verifying Home Ownership or Occupancy

FEMA is required to verify you lived at the address in your application as your primary residence before providing most types of IHP Assistance. FEMA is also required to verify you owned your home before providing Home Repair or Replacement Assistance.

As part of our effort to make the disaster assistance process quicker and reduce the burden on applicants, we try to verify occupancy and ownership by using an automated public records search.

If we cannot verify you lived in or owned the home that you listed in your application, we will ask you to provide documents to prove occupancy and/or ownership to help us determine if you are eligible for assistance.

Learn More