Deadlines for Coloradans with Flood Claims Approaching

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is reminding Coloradans of approaching deadlines to apply for flood relief. Yesterday, FEMA announced that the deadline to apply for Individual Assistance and Small Business Administration loans has been extended to December 1.

The deadline to file flood claims with the National Flood Insurance Program has also been extended. The deadline is now 81 days from the date of the damage, instead of 60.

The deadline to apply for Public Assistance and Transitional Sheltering Assistance is November 30.

“We encourage any Coloradans who have property damage due to the flood to assess their losses and file a claim,” Bennet said. “These extensions will help Coloradans access all of the resources they are eligible to receive to recover and rebuild.”

Additional information on deadlines is below.  For more information go to floodsmart.gov.

Requests for Individual Assistance – The deadline for individuals affected by this disaster to apply for individual assistance with FEMA is now December 2.  FEMA urges eligible individuals to register immediately, if they haven’t yet, by phone at 800-621-3362 (or TTY 800-462-7585) or apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) – Loans for individuals, private nonprofits, and businesses of all sizes working to repair physical damage and replace personal property: The deadline for filing an application for a low-interest disaster loan is now December 2nd.  FEMA is urging Colorado individuals and businesses to fill out their loan packets and return them to the SBA, even if they don’t think they can afford or want a loan; Applicants are under no obligation to accept an SBA loan and there is no cost to apply. However, completing and returning the SBA application may open the door to other forms of assistance such as additional FEMA grants. Individuals and businesses should keep all disaster funding options open, but they will be ineligible for SBA loans if they miss this deadline. For information about SBA programs, applicants can go to sba.gov/disaster or call (800) 659-2955 (TTY 1-800-977-8339). (Note that the application deadline for Economic Injury Disaster loans for small businesses and most private nonprofits without physical damage is June 16, 2014).

Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) – For people staying in hotels (FEMA pays 75%, State pays 25% -- directly to hotels): Deadline is November 30 – checkout date December 1.  Eligibility for TSA is decided on a case-by-case basis; if your home becomes accessible and/or livable, if you have already received rental assistance, or if rental units become available, for instance, you may no longer be eligible for TSA.

Requests for Public Assistance – Applicants for Public Assistance must notify FEMA and the State of Colorado about projects that may qualify for assistance (FEMA pays a minimum of 75%).  The deadline has been extended to November 30 for all designated counties – Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Crowley, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Gilpin, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Sedgwick, Washington and Weld.

Most requests for public assistance are filled out at Applicant Briefings. If applicants haven’t filed a request yet, they should send the form to RPA_colorado@state.us. For more information, contact Kathy Workman at 720-557-0161 or Kathy.workman@state.co.us.

Registration: Register with FEMA by phone, 800-621-3362, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., MT, seven days a week.  Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages. People who have a speech disability or are deaf or hard of hearing may call (TTY) 800-462-7585; users of 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362.

Register online: DisasterAssistance.gov. Register by Web-enabled device, tablet or smartphone: type m.fema.gov in the browser.