Bladen County residents are making progress with recovery from Hurricane Matthew and repairing damaged homes and businesses. The Federal Emergency Management Association is continuing to process applications for assistance. The registration deadline for FEMA assistance has been extended to Monday, Jan. 23, 2017.
As of January 11, Bladen County has had 2,898 residents apply for disaster assistance through FEMA and $2,184,862.53 in disaster relief funds have been approved.
Robeson County, one of the hardest hit counties in our area, has had 18,316 residents apply for assistance and $23,224,058.10 has been approved. Cumberland County, another hard hit area, has had 14,427 residents apply for assistance and has received $14,621,241.22 in assistance.
Statewide, there have been 79,421 applications submitted and $88.4 million in FEMA disaster assistance has been approved.
Some residents may choose not to register for assistance because others around them have more damage. FEMA officials say that does not matter. They encourage everyone who received damage, no matter how minor you may think it is, can apply.
Registration is easy. Simply log onto DisasterAssistance.gov and follow the step-by-step instructions. Residents can also call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.
The Small Business Administration offers low interest loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses as well as non-profit organizations to cover the costs of replacing lost or damaged personal property. To contact the SBA, call 800-659-2955 or visit the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster.
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