People in nine Iowa counties hit hardest by spring flooding have just a few days to register for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Registering with FEMA helps the agency determine if people are eligible for grants to help repair their flood-damaged homes or pay for temporary housing. FEMA’s Deanna Frazier says many Iowans who are eligible still haven’t requested help.
Frazier says, “They want to make sure that there is enough funding to go around to other survivors who were more highly impacted than they were.”
More than 2,400 Iowa households and families have registered with FEMA so far, and the agency has already approved more than $13 million for Iowans. Once a homeowner registers with FEMA, the agency works to get an inspector to their home to survey the damage.
“We are receiving more registrations that are kind of trickling in rather than busting down our doors right now, however, we do believe that there are people out there that have not registered with FEMA for assistance.” The U.S. Small Business Administration also offers low-interest loans for homeowners. The deadline to register is July 1st — Monday.
Seven of the eligible counties are in western Iowa: Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, Pottawattmie, Shelby, Fremont and Mills, while the remaining two are in eastern Iowa: Scott and Louisa. For information, call 800-621-FEMA or visit disasterassistance.gov.
(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)