RecoveryAid

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RecoveryAid

There are and will be various beneficial aid programs that some folks will be interested in. Of course, the first and foremost is to procede with insurance claims which call for FEMA participation.

As time develops, if you have suggestions to add to benefit others please send this info.

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From: Steve Klyce <sklyce@klyce.com>

To: danellis3@juno.com

Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 15:25:08 -0600

Thanks for your updates on the web site. Said there to give you info on wind v. flood damage. State Farm did wind loss on our roof and ceiling which were mostly above the 32' surge, and flood on the contents and structure below the water line (which was just over the 2nd floor of our raised house). I thought the amounts quoted were reasonable and was told the checks were in the mail.

Not sure where we are going from here. Keep the info coming!

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From: Richard Schretzenmayer <RSchretzenmayer@Trident-ITW.com>

Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 08:17:56 -0400

Dan,

I noticed on the web page the volunteer fire department section. I was wondering how they faired from the Hurricane. I am a member of a volunteer fire department located in New Fairfield CT and we are looking to help where we can the departments that really need some help. I know that this storm

effect so many people and we are trying to do our part. If you know of any fire companies that can use the help in getting equipment or other items please give me some contact information for these departments. Our department would like to help where we can.

We are holding a special fund raiser the first of Oct to raise funds for this purpose. You can send me an e-mail at fireinthehole2@sbcglobal.net or call me at 203-482-5995. I hope that we would be able to help the departments in the area.

Best Wishes for all of you and your families. Our prayers are with all of you.

Rich Schretzenmayer

New Fairfield Vol. Fire Company A. --- New Fairfield CT

Anything we can do for some of the departments down there would be great. We are going through our three stations to see what we might have that we are not using or miss to try and send down to these places. This fund raiser we are doing I am hoping to raise money for them as well. So we can either make sure it gets to them or get items that they might need.

I now communications are still very hard in those areas and I want to thank you for trying to get us contacts to help in this effort. Please let me know if there is anything that we might be able to do.

Best Wishes and Good Speed.

Rich Schretzenmayer

New Fairfield Volunteer Fire Company A. --- New Fairfield CT

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FEMA free grant program ends; was it fair?

'Expedited assistance' $2,000 payments to Katrina victims stopped quietly

By Bob Sullivan

Technology correspondent

MSNBC

Updated: 9:15 a.m. ET Oct. 4, 2005

Is everyone getting their fair share of FEMA hurricane recovery funds?

Already, FEMA has given away a staggering amount of money to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- nearly $2 billion to 850,000 people, according to figures provided by Federal Emergency Management Agency's Eugene Kinerney. And much more aid is probably on the way. Victims are eligible to receive up to $26,200 based on a means test, enough for 18 months of living expenses according to government calculations, FEMA says.

With that much money being doled out, there's bound to be criticism.

There were those $2,000 pre-loaded debit cards provided in the week after Hurricane Katrina hit in September. Distribution of the cards led to long lines and much frustration. The debit cards were discontinued after about 10,000 were issued, and they were replaced by direct-deposit electronic transfers. But quietly last week, FEMA cut off all of its no-strings attached instant grants to Katrina victims. The news had some people wondering: Were some victims left out?

"These monies are used for food, diapers, medicines, and other essential items. For FEMA to cut off these funds now is unacceptable," said Congressman William Jefferson, D-LA. "FEMA should reinstate the ... program immediately until all qualified individuals receive the money to which they are entitled.”

No strings attached

Immediately after Katrina made landfall, FEMA began giving out the no-strings-attached $2,000 cash payments in a program called "expedited assistance." The money could be spent on anything the victims chose. But those Katrina victims who haven't gotten their cash payments yet are out of luck. Expedited assistance was cut off on Sept. 26, FEMA said.

Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat in the House Committee on Homeland Security, issued a scathing press release.

"The execution of FEMA’s Expedited Assistance program after Hurricane Katrina has been marred by error since it was announced," Thompson wrote. "Soon after the program began, it was abruptly cancelled, only to be reactivated. Evacuees were forced to wait in daylong lines, only to be turned away when funds in certain locations ran out...Cutting off emergency survival funds for those in need is a sign of the incompetent and bureaucratic Department of Homeland Security at work.”

An aid at Thompson's office said it wasn't fair that the assistance was cut off without announcement, creating a confusing situation where some victims got their $2,000 and others didn't -- with no list of rules explaining why.

"There is no hard and fast policy on when this starts and when this ends," she said. "A lot of these people have been told to apply online, when they have no electricity and no telephone." And others, who had telephone service, repeatedly got busy signals when calling, she said. "There will be a continued distrust of the project."

One grant program ends, another begins

FEMA confirms the emergency cash program ended for Katrina victims on Sept. 26, but Rita victims were still eligible on Monday. There was no announcement of the cutoff: No one at FEMA's offices could point to an official stop and start policy about expedited assistance. FEMA's Kinerney said simply, "(The program) had done its job.”

But those who did not receive a $2,000 payout may still get a fair shake, insisted Kinerney. He said all hurricane victims are entitled to that maximum total assistance of $26,200. Victims who didn’t take anything in the first slice can get more later on, he said. In the end, everyone is entitled to the same assistance, based on their ability to pay -- a means test that includes current income, insurance payments, and other factors.

Expedited assistance may be gone, but the agency has moved into a second phase of aid specifically targeting housing. The program is called THAP, or Transitional Housing Assistance Program. Victims get $2,358 to pay three months of rent or hotel charges, Kinerney said. The amount is calculated from average living expenses for three months around the country.

Victims can continue to get housing grants for 18 months, he said, as long as they provide receipts proving the money was spent on housing.

"We are pushing to get people out of shelters and into more interim housing," Kinerney said.

Were some left out? A good question

In Louisiana alone, about 580,000 residents who registered for FEMA’s instant grants have received $1.2 billion. But, in the midst of a chaotic situation, where communication services like telephone and Internet access are still spotty, Rep. Thompson is asking a critical question: How many people haven't yet seen a FEMA agent or the FEMA Web site?

“Thirty days is fine if you can actually reach FEMA during those thirty days. Many folks couldn’t get to a FEMA recovery center to stand in line and only got busy signals when they tried to call,” Thompson said. “Once again the FEMA devotion to bureaucracy has trumped common sense. When are they going to throw away their old playbook and figure out how to actually help people?”

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Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief

Effects on IRAs

Bankers Systems Retirement Plan Services

September 2005

President Bush signed the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (the Act) on September 23, 2005, providing numerous potential tax benefits to the victims of the hurricane that devastated the Gulf Coast in August. Included among these benefits are distribution and rollover opportunities to eligible individual retirement account (IRA) owners and/or participants in qualified employer plans. Specifically, a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution is not subject to the 10 percent penalty tax, is generally taxable over a three-year period, and is nontaxable to the extent an individual rolls it over within a different three-year period.

The Hurricane Katrina Disaster Area, declared by the President under Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, includes counties in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The individuals qualified for the tax benefits of the Act are residents of these areas who suffered losses from the hurricane.

This article discusses the details of these unique relief provisions for retirement plans and speculates on the potential Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting requirements.

Qualified Hurricane Katrina Distributions

A qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution is a distribution to an individual who has sustained an economic loss from Hurricane Katrina and whose principal place of abode on August 28, 2005 was in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. These distributions are available only from August 25, 2005 until December 31, 2006. An individual’s aggregate qualified Hurricane Katrina distributions are limited to $100,000.

Qualified Hurricane Katrina distributions are available from all types of IRAs and the following qualified employer plans:

Retirement plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 401(a), including pension plans, profit-sharing plans, money purchase plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and 401(k) plans;

IRC Section 403(a) annuity plans;

IRC Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans; and

IRC Section 457(b) plans for certain governmental units

Qualified Hurricane Katrina distributions from qualified employer plans are not subject to the mandatory 20 percent federal income tax withholding required on all other eligible rollover distributions.

Unique Tax Treatment

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 72(t)(1) imposes a 10 percent penalty tax on early distributions taken by participants in certain qualified employer plans and IRA owners. IRC Section 72(t)(2) provides several exceptions to this penalty tax including distributions taken by a disabled IRA owner, a beneficiary following an IRA owner’s death, or an IRA owner who is age 59½ or older. The Act adds IRC Section 72(t)(2)(G), providing another exception to the penalty tax for any recipient of a taxable qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution.

Under a separate provision of the Act, a recipient pays federal income tax on a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution ratably over a 3-year period that begins with the year of the distribution unless the recipient elects to pay the total tax on the distribution year’s tax return or within a 2-year period. This ratable method is similar to the 4-year method an individual used to pay his/her income taxes on a traditional IRA conversion to a Roth IRA in 1998.

The new law does not address how a traditional IRA owner with a nontaxable basis in his/her aggregate IRA balances will determine the taxable amount of the ratable portion of his/her qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution each year of the 3-year period, or how a partial rollover of the distribution affects the calculations. Hopefully future IRS guidance will address these calculation issues.

Tax-Free Rollovers Available

Under IRC Section 72(t)(2)(G)(ii), an individual can avoid federal income tax on any portion of a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution he/she rolls over within a 3-year period beginning on the day after the date of the distribution. This new law effectively waives the standard 60-day rollover requirement for distributions from qualified employer plans and IRAs.

If an individual takes a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution from an IRA, he/she can roll it back to the same type of IRA or, if it was a traditional IRA or eligible SIMPLE IRA distribution , to a qualified employer plan that accepts rollover contributions. If an individual takes a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution from his/her employer’s qualified plan, it is eligible for rollover to another qualified employer plan or a traditional IRA.

An individual who takes advantage of this unique rollover opportunity will have to file amended income tax returns to request a refund of any taxes paid during his/her 3-year ratable tax period. If an individual rolls over all or any portion of a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution before he/she has completed the ratable payment of income taxes on the distribution, he/she reduces any remaining untaxed amount by the amount of his/her rollover.

Example

Dewey, age 46, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, took a $27,000 taxable qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution from his traditional IRA on January 15, 2006, to fix the damage to his New Orleans home caused by the hurricane.

He does not owe the 10 percent penalty tax but he chooses to pay federal income tax by including this amount ratably ($9,000 each year) on his federal income tax returns over a 3-year period, 2006-2008. As an alternative, Dewey could choose to pay the income tax by including the total amount on his 2006 federal income tax return.

During the 3-year period beginning January 16, 2006 and ending January 15, 2009, Dewey could roll over all or any portion of the $27,000 distribution to a traditional IRA or his employer’s qualified plan and avoid income tax on that portion rolled over. If he takes advantage of this delayed rollover, he will need to reduce the amount of any remaining taxable amount and/or file an amended federal income tax return for any tax year affected by a rollover.

For instance, if Dewey were to roll over the entire $27,000 back to a traditional IRA in 2008, assuming he chooses the ratable tax method, he would file amended federal income tax returns for 2006 and 2007 asking for a refund of the taxes paid on the $9,000 included each year. In addition, he would not have to include the remaining $9,000 as income on his 2008 federal income tax return.

Cancelled Home Purchases

The Act also provides another rollover opportunity to individuals who received hardship distributions from qualified employer plans or first-time homebuyer distributions from IRAs after February 28, 2005, but before August 29, 2005, for the purchase or construction of a personal residence in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. If the disaster prevented an IRA owner or plan participant from using his/her distribution for its intended purpose, he/she can avoid income tax and the 10 percent penalty tax on all or any portion of that amount by rolling it over to an eligible retirement plan (IRAs or qualified employer plans).

However, he/she must complete the rollover during the period beginning August 25, 2005 and ending February 28, 2006. This provision effectively extends the standard 60-day period for rollover completion and the special 120-day period for rolling over IRA distributions for first-time home buying when the intended construction or purchase fails.

Reporting and Documentation

At this writing, the actual reporting responsibilities are unknown. The IRS has not yet issued guidance on the proper distribution reporting of any qualified Hurricane Katrina distributions on IRS Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., or the reporting of the 10 percent penalty tax waiver on IRS Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts.

Also debatable at this point are any documentation requirements. There are plenty of questions but no specific answers:

Will an individual have to prove that he/she sustained a loss from Hurricane Katrina before receiving a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution or have documentation ready in case of an IRS examination?

Will the IRS provide special forms or work sheets for ratably reporting any qualified Hurricane Katrina distributions, or leave it to each individual to document his/her 3-year income reporting properly?

Will an IRA custodian/trustee need to revise its distribution documentation to reflect IRS reporting requirements?

Will an IRA custodian/trustee need to revise its rollover contribution documentation to reflect the extended periods for completing a rollover of a qualified Hurricane Katrina distribution?

IRA reporting history has shown that the answer to each of these questions is probably an affirmative one. The IRS will likely issue reporting and documentation guidance in the near future.

More Information

Stay tuned to ComplianceHeadquarters.com for the latest in IRS guidance on the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act and its effects on IRA owners and IRA custodians/trustees. For comprehensive information on Hurricane Katrina tax relief from the IRS, click here to see IRS Notice 2005-73 and here for IR-2005-109 or go to www.irs.gov.

In addition, Bankers Systems, Inc. will announce any potential changes to its distribution, contribution, and rollover review forms and Account Recordkeeping Services.

Source: http://www.complianceheadquarters.com/IRA/IRA_Articles/9_27_05.html

Relief-effort tax proposals could hurt Katrina victims

Russ Wiles

The Arizona Republic

Sept. 25, 2005 12:00 AM

Politicians are falling all over themselves rewriting the nation's tax code to benefit hurricane victims.

Less than a month after Katrina struck, both houses of Congress have passed legislation providing help for individuals and businesses alike.

President Bush has promised to sign the measure.

Never mind that more than $1 billion of charitable donations already have poured in, more than $60 billion in federal aid is in play and insurance companies are paying out enormous claims. Never mind that a new Congressional Research Service report questions the effectiveness of tax breaks aimed to help low-income Katrina victims.

Congress still feels the need to tinker further with a tax code that's unbelievably complex. It's a well-meaning effort but one that could backfire because certain provisions either wouldn't make much difference or actually could hurt victim finances.

Besides, it's not as if current tax law doesn't provide help. For example, casualty losses not reimbursed by insurance can be deducted if they exceed $100 plus 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. Also, grants for people in disaster areas covering medical care, transportation and temporary housing aren't taxable, researcher CCH Inc. says.

There's even an issue of fairness. Some items would give Katrina's victims a better deal than disaster victims generally, as if a home damaged by flood in Louisiana is worse than destruction by hurricane in Florida or fire in Arizona.

For example, the bill would let Katrina victims, but not others, deduct all unreimbursed casualty losses. And if any hurricane victims have their debts forgiven by creditors, they wouldn't have to include that in gross income. Debt relief usually is taxable.

Similarly, the bill would boost the tax deduction for volunteers who use their cars to perform charity work, from a mere 14 cents a mile to 34 cents. But it's available only for Katrina.

Also, current law caps charity contributions at 50 percent of AGI. The bill would suspend this limit on Katrina donations. Yet how many people are hampered by an inability to donate more than one-half their income?

And the measure could send the wrong message on savings. It would let disaster victims waive the normal 10 percent tax penalty if they tap into IRAs or 401(k)-style plans before retirement age.

The problem here is that retirement accounts aren't rainy-day funds, which is why a penalty applies. Everyone needs cash for emergencies, but it should be kept separate, in liquid accounts.

Many Americans are ill-prepared as it is for retirement - as shown by a median 401(k) balance of just $18,000, Employee Benefit Research Institute reports. Letting Katrina victims drain their accounts early won't help.

"That's a concern," said Mark Luscombe, a federal tax analyst at CCH. "And when you talk about displaced people from New Orleans, a lot of them probably haven't contributed to IRAs anyway."

Even victims with IRAs or 401(k)s would face income tax on such withdrawals unless they put the money back into their accounts within three years - not a likely scenario for those who feel compelled to pull cash out in the first place.

Another oddity would let seniors 70 1/2 and older withdraw money from IRAs and not pay taxes provided they roll the cash over to a charity this year. People older than 59 1/2 could do the same if they transfer the money into esoteric accounts known as charitable remainder trusts.

IRA withdrawal rules are complex enough, and these items have confusion written all over them. Most likely, the year-end deadline would pass before most people figure out what's going on.

"The provision allowing rollovers of IRAs into charitable remainder trusts would have virtually no effects on charitable giving," wrote Jane Gravelle of the Congressional Research Service.

Stung by criticism about the government's slow response to Katrina, Congress must want to assure the public it's on the ball. But writing new tax laws in a hurried fashion, with many irrelevant if not harmful provisions, isn't the way to go.

Sometimes it's better to let existing safety nets and tax rules do their jobs - and for Congress to do nothing.

Reach Wiles at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8616.

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Housing promises to evacuees fall short

FEMA pulling funding for hotel stipends as more shelters close

By Spencer S. Hsu and Elizabeth Williamson

Updated: 1:31 a.m. ET Oct. 2, 2005

Two weeks before President Bush's mid-October goal for moving Hurricane Katrina victims out of shelters, more than 100,000 people still reside in such makeshift housing, and 400,000 more are in hotel rooms costing up to $100 a night.

Housing options promised by the federal government a month ago have largely failed to materialize. Cruise ships and trailer parks have so far proved in large part to be unworkable, while an American Red Cross program -- paid for by the federal government -- that allows storm victims to stay in motels or hotels is scheduled to expire Oct. 15. It is projected to cost the Federal Emergency Management Agency as much as $168 million.

Federal officials are struggling to launch an alternative interim housing program that would give families whose homes are destroyed or uninhabitable a lump sum of $2,358 in rental assistance, or $786 a month for three months, with the possibility of a 15-month extension. So far, 330,000 families have signed up for the housing assistance. But if evacuees have to use those stipends to pay for hotel rooms when FEMA stops covering such lodging, the funds will not last long.

Last week, the number of evacuees in hotels increased from 220,000 to more than 400,000 people, in 140,000 rooms. Many have no idea what they will do when the program ends in two weeks.

Ronnie Ashworth, a truck driver from Chalmette, La., east of New Orleans, currently lives at the Baton Rouge Marriott. If no other housing is forthcoming after Oct. 15, "I'll be sleeping in the back of my truck," Ashworth, 60, said. "I have no funds right now."

Red Cross spokeswoman Carrie Martin said, "We're administering the hotel program with the expectation that it ends on October 15th. . . . After that, we'll still have shelters open, but we definitely don't want to move backwards."

Evacuees scattered across country

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people remain in about 1,000 shelters operated by the Red Cross, smaller charities and churches, scattered across two dozen states as far-flung as New York and Washington.

The Red Cross has said it will keep its shelters open for as long as necessary, but many are in churches and public buildings that are needed for their primary functions. Hundreds of shelters have closed over the past two weeks, and many of their occupants, the Red Cross said, appear to be moving into hotels, in hopes of benefiting from the hotel program in its final days.

In search of temporary housing immediately after the hurricane, FEMA officials went on a $1.5 billion spending spree, buying out entire dealerships of recreational vehicles and signing contracts for more than $500 million with one manufacturer of mobile homes. But the plan to create "cities" of 500 to 600 RVs across the South has run into major logistical and political problems.

Trailor cities face bumpy road

In FEMA lots in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, several thousand trailers stand empty, waiting for the agency to navigate land leases, zoning laws, local opposition and policy questions.

"We have 12,000 mobile homes with no place to put them," said Rosemarie Hunter, a FEMA spokeswoman in Baton Rouge.

To date, only 1,396 trailers in Louisiana house displaced people. About 1,100 are occupied by workers engaged in New Orleans's recovery effort, and 173 house families left homeless by the storm.

Policymakers say that warehousing tens of thousands of people in trailer park communities until New Orleans and other cities are rebuilt could lead to the creation of dysfunctional "FEMAvilles," as residents of past encampments have called them. Democrats go further, warning that they may become known as "Bushvilles," just as Depression-era shantytowns were called "Hoovervilles."

Wait for shelter or just move on?

Refugee Council USA, which includes nine U.S. resettlement agencies that have integrated 2.5 million global refugees into the United States since 1975, said storm victims would be better off getting on with their lives -- finding housing, jobs and counseling services in new communities rather than waiting indefinitely for homes to be rebuilt.

FEMA officials agree. Evacuees, said FEMA spokesman Eugene Kinerney, "need to consider long-term housing in areas where there is available rental stock and prospects for employment to take care of other needs, such as food."

But some civic and political leaders worry that the alternative -- resettling storm victims -- will lead many to stay permanently in their host communities, fundamentally changing the nature and politics of Louisiana and possibly beyond.

FEMA initially estimated that the homes of 300,000 families were destroyed by Katrina and that 200,000 of them will need government help with housing but said only time would reveal the true scope of need. The lack of an effective strategy to manage the largest displaced population of Americans in at least 60 years has touched off a furious policy debate.

"The big picture is . . . everyone who has some scheme for how people should live is now living vicariously through the opportunity New Orleans offers" of a blank slate, said Ronald D. Utt, senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation. "All this push and pull is happening, and all of which can be lumped in with some notion of social engineering."

Vouchers eyed as housing alternative

Policy think tanks from the Brookings Institution on the left to Heritage on the right have criticized FEMA for relying on trailers as it traditionally does for hurricane victims, saying Katrina's scale overwhelms that solution. By contrast, they say vouchers provide more choices to individuals, reduce the need for building public housing and take advantage of existing housing stock.

In a joint statement last week, Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized how long it took the Bush administration to implement its voucher program. "It wasn't until nearly one month after the disaster struck that the Bush Administration finally announced it would begin to provide rent payments to families displaced by the storm," as Democrats urged, they said. Under the FEMA housing assistance plan, families that remain eligible can get as much as 18 months of cash assistance for a maximum of $14,148, but the money would count against a cap of $26,200 per family that Congress has set for FEMA to give in cash, rental assistance and home repairs.

Even before FEMA announced the program, Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) pushed a plan through the Senate last month to provide $3.5 billion in housing vouchers to 350,000 Katrina-displaced families. On Friday, Sarbanes called on Bush to transfer control of housing assistance from FEMA to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"The scope of this disaster calls for changes in how we think about disaster assistance," Sarbanes wrote the White House. "Hundreds of thousands of people may need housing assistance for 18 months or even longer. We cannot rely on FEMA, an emergency response agency, to provide on-going housing assistance to this large number of families," he said, citing HUD's "experience, staff and infrastructure."

Staff writer Jacqueline L. Salmon contributed to this report.

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Fire Truck Donation offer:

From: "Mayor Snow"

To: <Dan@PassChristian.Net>

Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 12:32:09 -0500

Hi Dan,

I am Mayor of a small town in the state of Washington and we have a fire truck that we would like to donate to one of the small towns in Mississippi but have no idea how to go about doing this. I will give more info to anyone interested. Can you help me out with this?

Mayor,Quincy Snow

Coulee Dam, WA

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Note: ALL Katrina displaced persons staying at hotel/motels have or should have been notified that FEMA/ARC will pay 28 days shelter accommodations.

Note: ALL Katrina displaced persons have been awarded $2000. If online filing shows Checking Account, then automatic deposit, If not, then to be mailed to current address.

Note: It is important that anyone having filed online to keep their Record information updated with current information. If not by online, or if online is not responding, you should call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362.

Note: I have found that calling between 2a.m. and 4a.m. best for reduced waiting time. Also, regard the fact that these operators are also very weary and may be operating 16 hour shifts through this Emergency.

Sun Herald

Posted on Sat, Sep. 10, 2005

FEMA aid: What you should know

Insurance providers should be the first source of disaster relief for people whose damaged property was insured. But the next major source for assistance is FEMA’s Individuals and Household Program (IHP).

FEMA has opened two Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) in South Mississippi — one in Ocean Springs, 3164 Bienville Blvd. (old American Thrift), and one in Pascagoula which was scheduled to open Friday. More DRCs will be opening soon in other locations. The centers will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., until further notice.

People are urged to first register for assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Follow up questions or checking on the status of a claim may be conducted at one of the centers.

IHP, which may include cash grants of up to $26,200 per individual or household, provides services to people in the disaster area when losses are not covered by insurance, and property has been damaged or destroyed. You must meet specific eligibility conditions to qualify for help.

Limitations

IHP will not cover all of your losses from damage to your property (home, personal property, household goods) that resulted from the disaster. IHP is not intended to restore your damaged property to its condition before the disaster. In some cases, IHP may only provide enough money, up to the program limits, for you to return an item to service. IHP does not cover business-related losses that resulted from the disaster. By law, IHP cannot provide money to you for losses that are covered by your insurance.

Applying for IHP

To begin the application assistance process, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing or speech impaired or register online at www.fema.gov. The best time to call is in the evening after 6 p.m. or on the weekends, because call volumes tend to be lighter. If you need more information after you’ve registered by phone make an optional visit to a Disaster Recovery Center, where you will find local, state, federal and voluntary agencies to assist you. Have the following information ready to give to the person who takes your call: Your Social Security number. A description of your losses. Insurance Information. Directions to your damaged property. A telephone number where you can be contacted. IHP is for use only by people in designated federal disaster areas.

The process

After you’ve registered, an inspector will call to schedule an appointment within a few days. The inspection is free. Inspectors are contractors, not FEMA employees; however, they’ll have a FEMA ID.

When the inspector visits, you must be present. Have the following available:

Proof of ownership (deed, tax records, mortgage payment book or a copy of your dwelling’s insurance policy for the address, showing you as the owner). Proof of occupancy (your driver’s license address, any first-class government mail sent to you within the last three months at the address or recent utility bills in your name at that address).

The inspector will ask you to sign a form authorizing FEMA to verify that the information you have given is correct. Inspectors file your report but do not determine your eligibility.

Within about 10 days of the visit, you’ll receive a letter from IHP informing you of the decision on your request for help.

If you are eligible for help, the letter — explaining what the money can be used to pay for — will be followed by a U.S. Treasury/State check or there will be a transfer of cash to your bank account.

If you are not eligible, the letter will give a reason and you’ll be informed of your appeal rights. If you are referred to the Small Business Administration for help, you will receive an application.

Money

If you’re sent a check, you can use the money for housing needs to pay for:

Structural parts of your home, such as foundation, outside walls and roof. Windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings and cabinetry. Septic or sewage system. Well or other water system. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning system. Utilities, such as electrical, plumbing and gas systems. Entrance and exit ways from your home, including privately owned access roads. Blocking, leveling and anchoring of a mobile home and reconnecting or resetting its sewer, water, electrical and fuel lines and tanks.

You may use the money provided for other than housing needs to pay for or repair:

Disaster-related medical and dental costs. Disaster-related funeral and burial cost. Clothing, household items, room furnishings, appliances, tools, specialized or protective clothing and equipment required for your job, necessary educational materials — computers, school books and supplies. Fuels for the primary heat source. Clean-up items. Disaster-damaged vehicle. Moving and storage expenses related to the disaster. Other necessary expenses or serious needs as determined by FEMA.

Eligibility

To receive money or help for housing needs, all of the following must be true:

Losses must be in an disaster area declared by the president. Damage must not be covered by your insurance benefits. You, or someone who lives with you, must be a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national or a qualified alien. The home must be where you usually live or where you were living at the time of the disaster. Your home also should be unliveable, unable to get to or requiring major repairs.

To receive money or help for housing needs, all of the following must be true:

Losses must be in an disaster area declared by the president. Damage must not be covered by your insurance benefits. You, or someone who lives with you, must be a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national or a qualified alien. You have necessary expenses or serious needs because of the disaster. You have accepted assistance from all other sources for which you are eligible, such as insurance proceeds or SBA loans.

You may not be eligible for money or help from IHP if:

You have other, adequate rent-free housing that you can use. Your home that was damaged is your secondary or vacation residence. Your expenses resulted only from leaving your home as a precaution. You have refused assistance from your insurance provider. Your only losses are business losses or items not covered by this program. The damaged home where you live is located in a designated flood hazard area, and your community is not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.

In this case, the flood damage to your home would not be covered, but you may qualify for rental assistance or items not covered by flood insurance, such as water wells, septic systems, medical, dental or funeral expenses.

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