Sept. 29, 2016
DR-4277-LA
NR-072
NEWS DESK: 225-382-1607
SBA: 916-764-9918
News Release
College Students May Qualify for Disaster Assistance
BATON ROUGE, La. – Students at Louisiana colleges or universities in areas affected by the August flooding may be eligible for FEMA disaster grants to help with damage to or losses of personal vehicles, clothing, text books and school supplies.
Disaster assistance loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available up to $40,000 for personal property loss of vehicles, furniture and other personal items.
Students do not need to be permanent residents of the designated parishes to be eligible for assistance. However, the property damage or loss must have occurred in a flooded area.
To apply:
- Call FEMA’s toll-free registration number, 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY at 800-462-7585; for 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available.
- Go online to www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
Disaster recovery centers are open in various locations throughout designated parishes that were flooded. Representatives of FEMA and other agencies can provide information about disaster assistance, flood insurance, personal and property flood-risk reduction and low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses.
Locate a center by visiting fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers, calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362, or downloading the FEMA mobile app.
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Monitor DOTD’s www.511la.org website for updated road closure information. You can find the latest information on the state’s response at www.emergency.la.gov. GOHSEP also provides information on Facebook and Twitter. You can receive emergency alerts on most smartphones and tablets by downloading the new Alert FM App. It is free for basic service. You can also download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at www.getagameplan.org.
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. If you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.
JFO – BATON ROUGE, LA
FEMA-4277-DR-LA
External Affairs
News Desk: 225-382-1607
FEMA-4277-LA-External-Affairs@fema.dhs.gov