HELP FOR IDA VICTIMS
FEMA sets up resource site for aid and information
BLUE BELL » As the recovery process continues weeks after Ida slammed through Montgomery County with tornadoes and flooding, residents and business owners now have a one-stop shop for disaster assistance.
“I think it’s important to have centers like this where we have all these services under one roof, and making sure that’s accessible, and equitable for distribution of not only these federal programs, but also some of the state support that’s here as well,” said Charlie Elison, a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson, at a Monday morning walk-through of the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center established on Friday.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday in the educational gymnasium at the health sciences center at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus, located at 340 Dekalb Pike.
“It’s going to be demand driven and in partnership with Montgomery County,” Elison said. “We’re here for the foreseeable future.”
Along with FEMA, other state and county agency representatives were present Monday.
“This was the first DRC that FEMA opened in support of Ida recovery in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” Elison said.
Other centers were established in Chester and Delaware counties, Elison said.
Montgomery County was
“I think it’s important to have centers like this where we have all these services under one roof, and making sure that’s accessible, and equitable for distribution of not only these federal programs, but also some of the state support that’s here as well.”
— FEMA spokesperson Charlie Elison
hit hard by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which came through the region on Sept. 1, and continued through the evening and overnight hours. Along with historic flooding levels of the Schuylkill River and Perkiomen Creek, an EF-2 tornado ripped through parts of Upper Dublin and Horsham townships. Four persons were killed and many families displaced from their homes in the county.
According to Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, there have been 3,675 damage reports from home and business owners filed at montcopa. org/ida.
Gov. Tom Wolf surveyed the damage in Fort Washington on Sept. 3 and in Bridgeport on Sept. 8.
“This is devastating,” Wolf said following a tour of Montgomery County storm damage.
President Joe Biden authorized a disaster declaration for Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, paving the way for FEMA to get involved.
Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and York counties were identified in the declaration, according to a Montgomery County spokesperson.
A look at the DRC
Upon entering the college’s educational gymnasium, participants will first visit the registration desk, Elison said. After checking in, they can get further information from representatives from a number of local, state and federal agencies.
“We want them to feel empowered to come here to get their questions answered,” said Kelly Cofrancisco, Montgomery County’s communications director.
Elison recommended those visiting a center should bring several forms of information including their social security number, homeowner or rental documentation, reporting of damages, and insurance claims.
In addition to registering on site, those in need of services can also sign up by downloading the FEMA app, calling the FEMA helpline at 1-800621-3362 or visiting DisasterAssistance.gov.
The U.S. Small Business Administration was also on site Monday.
“What we try to do is bridge the gap between what insurance provides, and what you need to get back to where you were before the disaster,” said Public Affairs Specialist Karen Knapik.
The U.S. Small Business Administration spotlighted assistance for business owners who were impacted by the storm, according to Knapik, who noted that several aspects were under the loan umbrella including inventory, clean up costs and damage.
She added a loan for homeowners, who are “eligible for physical damage” such as cars, property and fences could aid in the recovery process.
“What we’d like to do is get everyone who had any damage at all to apply for SBA because you just don’t know what you’re going to need at the end, right?” she said.
The deadline to submit an application is on Nov. 9, according to Knapik.
To learn more about the agency’s disaster assistance, visit sba.gov/disaster, call 1-800-659-2955 or email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
Unemployment assistance available
State labor officials shared another form of relief Monday, offering eligibility for those impacted by the storm to apply for temporary disaster unemployment assistance.
“I strongly encourage Pennsylvanians whose employment is impacted as a direct result of Ida in one of the six federallydeclared counties, to apply for these benefits,” said Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier in a statement.
Along with living, working or traveling through the aforementioned counties covered under Biden’s disaster declaration, state officials outlined the following criteria points:
• Individuals unable to reach their job because they must travel through the affected area and are unable to do so because of the disaster.
• Individuals who were to begin employment but were prevented doing so by the disaster.
• Individuals who became the major support for a household because of the death of the head of the household as a result of the disaster.
• Individuals who cannot work because of an injury caused as a direct result of the disaster.
Those eligible must apply by Oct. 20. For more information and to file a claim, visit www.uc.pa. gov.