Hurricane Helene Application Deadline Ends in February
Time is running out for Georgians and small business owners affected by Hurricane Helene (Sept. 23-27, 2024) to submit their applications to FEMA for financial assistance. The deadline is February 7. After that date, you are on your own.
While the world’s attention has been focused on the devastating fires in the Los Angeles County area, thousands of residents throughout the southeast are still trying to recover from the damage from Hurricane Helene which swept through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Survivors of Helene’s wrath can attest that her fury was no joke. She left behind an estimated $60 billion in damages and 230 fatalities mostly from flooding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has set up a Disaster Recovery Center in the Evelyn Lowery Branch of the Fulton County Library System off Cascade Road for those Georgia residents and small business owners who feel they received damage from Helene. You do not have to be a resident of South Fulton to visit the center. FEMA has several centers located around the state.
“We wanted to be closest to the people who needed us and to create a one-stop shop for individuals and survivors who need assistance and who need to get signed up with FEMA,” said spokesperson Mario Boone during an interview with The Atlanta Voice. “The southern part of Fulton County seems to be where a lot of the damage from Hurricane Helene was concentrated. So this location seemed easily accessible and easily located.”
There is also a large number of displaced Georgians living in the metro Atlanta area, Boone added.
The FEMA officers at the center will walk visitors through the process to determine if they qualify for federal assistance.
Before you come in Boone suggests, “If they have homeowner insurance you would need to file through your insurance company first. FEMA doesn’t duplicate coverage but we do serve as a backstop to fill in the gap. For instance, if a homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover all of the losses, we may be able to step in and fill in that gap.”
Don’t wait until a disaster happens to look for important documents
Every adult and teenager in a home should be able to grab the family’s important documents at a moment’s notice. Now is the time to get your record-keeping up to date. A minor disaster ( i.e. house fire, flooding from a pipe burst, fallen trees) could change your life long before a major disaster does.
Boone offered these FEMA suggestions on how to store your important papers:
- Store in a fire or waterproof lockbox or safe
- Take photos of driver’s licenses, insurance papers, wills, birth certificates, social security cards
- Take videos of the contents in the interior and exterior of your home, including your garage or if you have a tool shed.
- Load the documents to a secure cloud platform if you are comfortable with that method.
- Make copies of everything
More than 66,000 people have visited FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers across the state and more than $283 million has been awarded to survivors of Helene and Tropical Storm Debbie, Boone said.
Applications close on February 7.
FEMA Offers Free Legal Services To Storm Victims
Free legal counseling, assistance and/or referrals are available for Georgia residents in designated counties as they recover from Tropical Storm Debby, (damage Aug. 4–20, 2024) and Hurricane Helene (damage Sept. 24—Oct. 30, 2024). People do not need to apply for FEMA Assistance to receive Disaster Legal Services.
Georgia residents can use this service to receive confidential, free legal assistance due to the disasters, who do not have the means to secure adequate legal services.
More information is available at: fema.gov/disaster/4830 1 or www.georgialegalaid.org
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FEMA Disaster Recovery Center
The center is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday – Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday; no appointments needed
Fulton County
Evelyn G Lowery Library at Cascade
3665 Cascade Road SW
City of South Fulton 30331 (formerly Atlanta)
