© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FEMA Reminds People Displaced By Flooding To Register For Recovery Assistance

Katie Peikes
/
IPR file
A home near Pacific Junction, Iowa, is surrounded by water on April 12, 2018.

FEMA wants to hear from Iowans who were forced to move out of flooded homes to find out if they plan to apply for federal aid. The agency offers financial assistance to renters and grants to homeowners to make their properties safe to live in again. Low interest loans are also available from the Small Business Association.

Around 400 homes in southwest Iowa are still inaccessible, according to the federal disaster agency, and the concern is that families displaced by the flood will lose track of the process.

“Those people are moving in with family and friends in other parts of the state and often across state lines,” said FEMA spokesperson Deanna Frazier.

But, she said, flooded residents need to remember that in order to be eligible for financial assistance they must first register with FEMA. The registration deadline is May 22.

“Get that registration in and then, if your home is inaccessible, let us know when that property is accessible so we can get an inspector out to survey the damage and determine what you may be eligible for,” Frazier said.

Grants average around $4,000, according to Frazier. Registration can be done online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA) or by visiting the disaster recovery centers in Fremont, Mills, Harrison or Woodbury counties.

Grant Gerlock is a reporter covering Des Moines and central Iowa