FEMA assisting storm victims in North and South Carolina

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced it will be providing assistance for North and South Carolinians displaced by Tropical Storm Helene.

Counties available for assistance in North Carolina include Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians can also receive assistance.

FEMA said residents in these counties who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible to stay temporarily in a hotel or motel paid for by the organization while they work on their long-term housing plan.

The organization said it would notify residents of their eligibility through an automated phone call, text message, or email.

Individuals and households may be eligible if they cannot return to their disaster-damaged homes and their housing needs cannot be met by insurance, shelters, or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency.

Under the TSA program, FEMA pays the cost of room, taxes, and non-refundable pet fees directly to participating hotels and motels. Pet fees will only be paid up to the approved limit of assistance for individual rooms. Survivors are responsible for all other costs, including laundry, restaurant and room services, parking, telephone, or movie rental.

FEMA said eligible survivors may stay in participating TSA hotels in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. To locate participating hotels, visit femaemergencyhotels.com/ and enter your FEMA registration number, obtained when you applied for FEMA assistance.

An initial eligibility review will be conducted 60 days after the check-in date. When eligibility ends, survivors will be notified by FEMA seven days prior to the checkout date.

In South Carolina, FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance crews will be traveling through various neighborhoods helping people apply for FEMA assistance.

They will be going door to door in affected neighborhoods to help people apply for federal assistance, check the status of an application, identify potential needs, and make connections with organizations that can provide resources.

Counties available for assistance are Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Lexington, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, and Spartanburg.

To apply for assistance, homeowners and renters can:

• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download the FEMA App for mobile devices.
• Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Lines are open every day, and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone, or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.

For the latest information on North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene, visit fema.gov/disaster/4827.

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