ORLANDO, Fla. – When there is a major disaster, and states find they need more help than they can provide, they turn to the federal government.
With a new hurricane bearing down on Florida, here’s what you need to know about the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, what help they provide to states, communities and individual survivors, and how you can get help.
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What is FEMA?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was created in 1978 under President Jimmy Carter. After 9/11, it was placed under the administration of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Much of FEMA’s framework is listed under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which was passed in 1988. State governors tell the president what they need and the president issues an emergency declaration. FEMA takes a supporting role on the ground in the early weeks of a disaster. They work to understand the needs of the community and provide resources as requested for the community.
For governments, federal disaster grant assistance can include debris removal, and helping to repair government buildings and some private nonprofit facilities.
What does FEMA do?
FEMA’s job is to coordinate the federal response and recovery efforts and provide resources. The agency supports the state and local government responses, works with those agencies and non-government groups, and amplifies their messaging. FEMA comes at the invitation of the state, and does not take charge of disasters.
“We don’t come in and ‘takeover,’” said John Brogan, the FEMA federal coordinating officer for Florida. “We have a theory that events are locally led, state-managed and federally supported. All events, no matter how big or small, start and end locally.”
“Florida really has the state-managed piece of this. We are there to support them,” he added.
FEMA also has no ability to seize or confiscate your property or home, or any property or home, even if your property is deemed unlivable.
What help does FEMA offer individual victims?
The president can also declare a major disaster declaration if it’s believed the severity of damage is beyond what state and local governments can do. That’s when federal programs for individuals open up. This is also done at the request of the state.
FEMA offers a number of grants, including funding for immediate needs, housing, medical expenses, funeral expenses and more. FEMA works with victims on a case-by-case basis.
Individuals apply for the help. FEMA then works with people to figure out what they can provide. Every case is different. The aid is not based on income, race, color, sexual orientation, gender, age, religion, disability, or even political party. Everyone who needs aid can apply for it and will be judged solely on what they need to get through a disaster.
Under the FEMA Individuals and Households Program, there are several different assistance categories. Depending on what you need, you can be eligible for any of these:
Financial housing assistance:
- Money to reimburse for hotels, motels or other short-term lodging.
- Money to rent alternate housing if you can’t stay in your home.
- Home repair/replacement assistance: This is money to help you repair your primary home or help replace it, even if there was a pre-existing issue.
Other needs assistance:
- Serious needs assistance, which helps pay for things like water, food, first aid, prescriptions, diapers, fuel, and personal hygiene items. This is up to $750 and is meant to be a quick injection while they wait for the rest of the assistance. Once you apply, if you need it and are approved, you may see it within one to three days in your bank account.
- Displacement assistance: This helps with immediate housing needs if you cannot return to your home.
- Personal property assistance: Money to help repair or replace appliances, furniture, or a computer or equipment needed for school or work, including if you are self-employed.
- Transportation assistance: Money to help repair or replace a vehicle damaged in a disaster if you don’t have another vehicle to use.
- Medical and dental assistance: Money to help you pay for expenses because the disaster caused an injury or illness.
- Funeral assistance: Money to help pay for funeral or reburial expenses caused by the disaster.
There are other types of help you can get. Every state is different, based on what the state wants covered, and depending on the disaster. The full list is on this page on the FEMA website.
How much money can you get?
The Stafford Act annually determines the maximum amount victims get based on the Consumer Price Index.
For disasters taking place in 2024, qualified victims get up to $42,500 for housing assistance and up to $42,500 for other needs assistance.
Rental assistance doesn’t count towards these maximums.
The amount was set in October 2023.
It’s important to note that FEMA will not give you hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace a house.
“FEMA’s there is meant to give a push and a nudge on recovery, it’s not there to make people whole. That’s not what our mission is,” Brogan said.
Much of that has to do with what is allowed under the Stafford Act.
FEMA provides grants, which do not have to be paid back. If extra help is needed, Brogan says disaster survivors can also apply for a loan through the Small Business Administration. This is not a requirement. It used to be, but that was changed under the Biden Administration.
What do I have to do to get FEMA assistance funds?
Here’s what it says on DisasterAssistance.gov:
- You or someone who lives with you is a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national, or a qualified non-citizen.
- You pass FEMA’s proof of identity and occupancy.
- You pass proof of ownership for Home Repair and Home Replacement Assistance.
- Your primary home is in a Presidentially declared disaster area and you can’t access or live in it.
- You have no insurance –or– have filed a claim, but it does not cover all of your losses.
If you have property insurance, you should file that claim as soon as you can. FEMA is not allowed to provide money for losses that are already covered by insurance. FEMA may help cover things your insurance won’t cover.
Something you can do right now, even before the storm is go to the Login.gov website to create an account you can use to access multiple federal government agencies. Getting this done before you apply for aid will reduce the number of steps you have to take.
To apply, you will go to DisasterAssistance.gov.
FEMA will want to verify where you live, what storm you have damage under, and what kind of assistance you are applying for.
Things you’ll need to complete your application:
- Your Social Security number
- Annual household income
- Contact information
- Insurance information (if you have it, if you don’t you can come back and add it later)
- Bank account information so money can be routed directly to your account
You can also apply over the phone by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (FEMA).
In a federally-declared major disaster zone, FEMA will also eventually open Disaster Recovery Centers where you can get help as well, so you can get help in person. Those DRCs tend to open within two weeks of a new disaster, as FEMA works with the counties to find good locations.
I registered with FEMA as soon as the storm passed and I didn’t get help. Why?
Once a storm passes, the state assesses data and sends in a major disaster declaration request, which the president must declare.
Your request for help will be put on hold until that declaration comes in.
For Hurricane Helene, Gov. DeSantis’s administration put in the disaster declaration request a day after the storm came through, and it was approved within a day.
Why do I have to register for help? Why can’t FEMA just give me the money?
FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Fund is one of the most-tracked funds by Congress, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The federal government requires FEMA to make sure every applicant is eligible for funding. So for instance, since funding goes by household, you need to make sure a spouse isn’t applying for the same needs as you are, or it could trigger a hold on your application.
Brogan also reiterates that every case is different.
“(Registration) helps us help them with their recovery, but also if there’s an unmet need, it allows us to coordinate with our other partners and do that case management,” he said.
What happens to my application after I send it in?
FEMA will coordinate with the disaster survivor. If funding for immediate or critical needs is required, that funding is sent out.
For other funding, FEMA will bring in a housing inspector, at the homeowner’s convenience. The inspector will call three times.
After the inspection, the findings will trigger what other money becomes available.
Brogan says throughout the process, survivors need to keep in contact with FEMA in case something changes.
For instance, if you tell FEMA you don’t need help with housing because you are staying with a friend, but then you need to find a new place to live suddenly, let FEMA know because they may be able to help.
“We don’t know what we don’t know, and so important to update that if their situation changes,” Brogan said.
How long does it take to get an application through?
It can take a matter of days. We try to turn our housing inspections around very quickly. Once that housing inspection is complete, the turnaround time can be very quick.
But it can be held up by your property insurance claim, so it is important to get that claim filed as soon as possible.
My claim was denied, what do I do now?
You should file an appeal immediately. Brogan says to visit a DRC in your area or call the phone number 800-621-3362 (FEMA).
“I just want to stress to folks it’s often something that can be fixed very easily, a documentation error, a name spelled wrong. It’s a stressful time for people, and mistakes can be made. So if a mistake is made, ok, we want to get this right,” Brogan said.
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