Published: July 02, 2009 08:38 pm      

Mercer residents have less than two weeks to sign up for FEMA aid

PRINCETON — Mercer County residents whose property suffered flood damage have until July 14 to file for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

As of Thursday morning, 70 people had registered with the federal agency, said Mike Sweet with the FEMA Public Affairs Office. Mercer County has public assistance to help repair damaged infrastructure, but individual assistance was extended to the county Wednesday.

“I think we’re finding the highest concentration of those (applications) are in the Princeton area,” Sweet said. “That doesn’t mean only people in Princeton can apply. Anybody in Mercer County who did receive damage from the floods should call us.”

Sweet stressed again that people seeking aid should apply to FEMA by July 14.

FEMA can be contacted by calling toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing-impaired.

Call center hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, FEMA officials said. Applications can be taken online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

Some callers will later receive a disaster loan application from the federal Small Business Administration, said Carl W. Sherrill, communications specialist. SBA disaster loan applications must be postmarked by July 14.

Recipients should fill out the applications and send them back as soon as possible, he said.

“This is not their tax return. They should fill it out to the best of their ability and get it back,” Sherrill said. People with questions can call 800-659-2955.

“We want to make disaster loans to everything that we can. Sometimes these provide the majority of funding for uninsured losses. Those we don’t make a loan to is automatically referred to for a grant from FEMA,” he said.

FEMA and the SBA share the same information, Sweet said. By filling out the SBA form, applicants can keep themselves on track for FEMA services. The process “stops in its tracks” for lack of information. FEMA can decide whether an SBA application should be sent when applicants make their initial contact with FEMA.

Sweet said he had been told by other FEMA officials that Mercer County had not requested individual assistance. Counties request assistance. This request then goes to the state, which then contacts FEMA, he said.

Tim Farley, director of the Mercer County Office of Emergency Services, said, “We’ve actually spent the last several weeks with state and FEMA representatives and county representatives...looking at damages done back on May 9. I guess the work we’ve done the last several weeks has paid off in getting some assistance for these people.”

Much of the flood damage was in basements and walls fractured by water pressure, and damage to water heaters, washers and dyers, and damage from mold and mildew. This will be assessed by FEMA representatives and will be under their control, Farley said.

The May flooding inflicted “tremendous amounts of damage” on home in Mingo and Wyoming counties as well as part of McDowell County, Farley said. Those areas had the most immediate need.

Farley said Thursday he was still waiting for additional information from FEMA.