Georgia Online Justice Community

ATLANTA - Only one week remains for any Georgia resident who had property damage or other losses as a result of the tornadoes and severe storms that ripped across the state in mid-March to register for state-federal disaster assistance.
The deadline is May 19 for residents in Bartow, Burke, DeKalb, Floyd, Fulton, Jefferson and Polk counties to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Registration takes about 20 minutes. Apply online at www.fema.gov or by a toll-free telephone call to 800-621-FEMA (3362). For the speech- or hearing-impaired the number is TTY 800-462-7585. Registration hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Multilingual operators are available.

Available assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for renters, homeowners and businesses of all sizes to cover uncompensated property losses, and other programs that help meet eligible disaster-related needs.

May 19 is also the deadline for homeowners, renters and businesses to return applications to the SBA for loans to cover disaster-related damages to real and personal property.

Officials urge everyone who has registered with FEMA and received an SBA application to complete the form and return it even if they are not seeking a loan. Submitting the SBA application by the May 19 deadline is required before applicants can be considered for some types of FEMA aid. Information about SBA programs is available by calling 800-659-2955 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday until further notice, or online at www.sba.gov.

A Helpline option is also available by calling the FEMA toll-free numbers. Registered applicants may ask questions about disaster assistance programs or the status of their applications, or request an appeal.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

SBA is the federal government's primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disasterdamaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 or online at www.sba.gov.

For more information on Georgia's disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov or www.gema.ga.gov or www.ready.ga.gov/ or www.georgia911.org or www.afcema.com .