LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Residents of Louisville who suffered damage from the severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides of April 2-17, 2015 may be eligible for federal disaster assistance.
Emergency Services Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has been working closely with The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine damages throughout the community caused by these storms.
EMA is encouraging all members of the community who registered a preliminary damage assessment as well as all area residents possibly affected to apply for assistance. Individuals and business owners who sustained losses can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621- 3362 (FEMA) or by web-enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov. Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; those who use 711 or Video Relay Service may call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time seven days a week, until further notice.
Residents who have registered for assistance will be contact by a FEMA representative for individual housing assessment.
There will be three disaster recovery centers in the Metro Louisville area staffed by FEMA representatives. The first center will be open at Okolona Fire Station #1, 8501 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40219 where individuals can go to discuss their case after they’ve registered. Operating hours for this Friday, May 8th are 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.and Saturday hours from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The following week they will be open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The additional two centers will open soon after and the community will be notified of these locations once they are determined by FEMA.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
FEMA representatives encourage applicants to collect the following information ahead of time to speed the process:
Social Security Number
Telephone number
Address of the damaged property and current address
Brief description of disaster-related damages and losses
Insurance and bank account information
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.
