RESIDENTS WITH FLOOD DAMAGE ENCOURAGED TO FILE WITH FEMA

  

Individuals affected by the flooding on May 27th are encouraged to file a report with FEMA.  The local FEMA center located at the commercial exhibits building at the county fairgrounds.  That center will close at 6 p.m. Thursday.  Even if you don’t make it to the Brenham center, there are other ways to file a claim.  A new FEMA center is opening in Sealy at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 10471 Groto Road, or you can go online to www.disasterassistance.gov

FEMA representative Rita Egan explains how the process works:

Egan explains that a FEMA grant is non-taxable and will not affect your Social Security or other government assistance.  She also encourages applicants to completely read any letters they receive from FEMA.  Often people are denied assistance because they made a simple mistake on the application.

Working alongside FEMA is the U.S. Small Business Administration.  They are managing federal loans for disaster recovery.  The loans are available not only to businesses, but also individuals.  SBA representative Burl Kelton explains:

Kelton explained that even if you had some insurance coverage on your property, you may be eligible for a SBA loan for things insurance did not cover.

At this point, FEMA assistance has been approved for 3859 people in the 19 counties affected by the May flooding totaling over 25 million dollars.