Community Relations Teams Visit Calif. Disaster Areas After Recent Floods

Community Relations specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are working with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and county emergency management directors to reach out to people affected by the flooding of December and January in Northern California.

Teams are canvassing communities in the 10 counties where residents and business owners are eligible to register for disaster assistance. The teams are providing information about available programs, including grants for temporary disaster housing needs; grants for essential repairs to make a residence livable; low-interest loans to repair or replace damaged property; and replacement grants for serious disaster-related needs and expenses not covered by insurance or other assistance programs.

Team members will go door-to-door to talk with individuals who have suffered damage or loss. They will also meet with representatives of community-based agencies, community leaders and public officials. When Community Relations staff identify unmet needs, the information will be passed along to the state or federal staff best able to respond.

There are two ways to register for disaster assistance: online at www.fema.gov, or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available to answer calls.

The 10 declared counties are Contra Costa, Del Norte, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sacramento, Siskiyou, Solano and Sonoma.