FEMA Extends Disaster Help Deadline to Dec. 10

HARRISBURG PA – Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed Friday (Nov. 5, 2021) to Pennsylvania’s request to extend by one month the deadline for submitting applications for monetary and other assistance to those affected by damage caused during Tropical Storm Ida. The new deadline is Dec. 10 (Friday).

Montgomery and Chester counties, and seven others in the state, qualified for FEMA’s individual assistance program in the wake of the storm. Claims can be filed in Montgomery County at the agency’s disaster recovery center at Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, and in Chester County at Ashbridge Square Shopping Center, 945 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown.

Both centers are open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed Sundays.

Assistance from FEMA may include funds for:

• Temporary housing for those unable to live in their homes, such as rental assistance or reimbursement for hotel costs;
• Support of repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes that serve as the household’s primary residence, including repair or replacement of furnaces, hot water heaters, HVAC, and privately-owned access routes, such as driveways, roads, or bridges;
• Disaster-caused expenses and serious needs, such as repair or replacement of personal property and vehicles; and
• Moving and storage, medical, dental, child care and other miscellaneous items may also be available.

Applicants for disaster assistance must provide their Social Security numbers, the address of the damaged primary residence, insurance coverage information, current telephone numbers and mailing addresses, and bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.

As of Friday across the 8-county declared disaster areas, FEMA said it had approved more than $38.6 million under the individual assistance program. It includes housing assistance of $29.2 million and other needs assistance of $9.3 million. Additionally, more than 2,100 disaster loan applications have been received by the Small Business Administration, with more than $25.4 million approved.