30 Days Left to Register for FEMA Assistance

The Nov. 14 deadline is approaching for survivors in nine designated Colorado counties to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster assistance.

The Nov. 14 deadline affects survivors of severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in counties designated for individual assistance: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan and Weld.

Federal/State disaster assistance for individuals and families can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

More than 24,000 Coloradans have contacted FEMA for help or information and more than $40 million in total individual assistance grants has been approved.

Register with FEMA by phone: 800-621-3362. Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

People who have a speech disability or are deaf or hard of hearing may call (TTY) 800-462-7585; users of 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362.

Register online: DisasterAssistance.gov.

Register by Web-enabled device, tablet or smartphone: type m.fema.gov in the browser.

Survivors who have registered with FEMA and received a loan application from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are urged to complete and return the application. Some types of FEMA aid are limited to applicants who did not qualify for a SBA disaster loan. Generally, SBA low-interest loans are the primary source of federal disaster assistance to help survivors fully recover. No one is required to accept a loan.

SBA has approved more than $16 million in loans for Colorado homes and businesses.

The deadline to return the SBA application is Nov. 14, the same as the deadline for registering with FEMA.

SBA assistance includes:
  • Home Disaster Loans – Loans to eligible homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate or personal property. Renters are eligible for personal property losses, including automobiles.
  • Business Disaster Loans – Loans to eligible businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size may apply. Certain private, nonprofit organizations may also be eligible.
  • Economic Injury Disaster Loans – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, nonprofit organizations. The loans are intended to meet their ordinary financial obligations that cannot be met because of the disaster. The deadline for economic injury loan applications is June 16, 2014.