Cleveland and Creek County Residents Receive More Than $11.5 Million in Disaster Assistance

OKLAHOMA CITY – October 23, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — More than $11.5 million in state and federal disaster assistance has been approved for homeowners, renters and businesses impacted by the Aug. 3-14 wildfires in Cleveland and Creek counties according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Eligible residents have received nearly $6 million in Housing Assistance for temporary lodging expenses, home replacement or repairs as well as more than $600,000 in Other Needs Assistance for repair or replacement of personal property, essential vehicles, moving and storage costs, and other miscellaneous disaster related expenses.

Federal disaster assistance programs are available for a limited time following a major disaster declaration. The deadline for all Cleveland and Creek County residents who suffered damages or losses to apply is Nov. 21.

To date, more than 775 individuals and families have registered with FEMA.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved more than $4.9 million in low-interest loans to repair or replace damaged real estate, personal property and business assets not covered by insurance. SBA makes up to $200,000 available to homeowners to repair or replace primary homes; up to $40,000 to homeowners and renters to repair or replace personal property; and, up to $2 million to businesses for physical losses and economic injury.

SBA wants to remind applicants that anyone who registers with FEMA and receives an SBA application needs to submit their completed application by the Nov. 21 deadline. Otherwise, they may miss out on additional federal assistance. Some people mistakenly assume these loans are only for small businesses; or, they choose to ignore them because they do not think they can’t afford or don’t qualify for a disaster loan.

Residents with access to computers or smartphones may apply for assistance or track their status online at www.disasterassistance.gov, or web-enabled phones at m.fema.gov or the FEMA app. If they do not have a computer, they can call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585. If using 711 Relay or Video Relay Services, the number is the same, 1-800-621-3362. FEMA phone lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT seven days a week; multilingual operators are available.

Homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the Aug. 3-14 wildfire, can apply for an SBA disaster loan after registering with FEMA by going online to SBA’s secure site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela; calling 1-800-659-2955 or TTY 1-800-877-8339. For information on SBA disaster assistance, go to www.sba.gov.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click on www.fema.gov/disaster/4078 or www.oem.ok.gov.

Follow the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook at twitter.com/okem and www.facebook.com/oklahomadepartmentofemergencymanagement. FEMA tweets about the Oklahoma disaster are at twitter.com/femaregion6. Additional FEMA online resources include blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.