URGENT-

TWO WEEKS LEFT TO REGISTER FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE

Little Rock, Ark –Just two weeks remain before the June 26 deadline to register for assistance for Arkansans affected by the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred on April 9. Officials with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urge anyone affected to make sure they have applied for all the federal assistance for which they may be eligible.

Individuals and business owners must have filed an application with FEMA by June 26, 2009 to be eligible for the variety of individual assistance programs made available to homeowners, renters and business owners in Ashley, Miller, Polk and Sevier counties.

To apply for disaster assistance, call FEMA toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing-impaired. Phone lines are open daily from 8 a.m. to midnight. An application also may be made online at www.fema.gov.

In a disaster declaration, the U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) is the primary source of financial assistance. If you have received an SBA loan application, you must complete and return it to be considered for an SBA disaster loan or other grants and programs. If you do not qualify for an SBA disaster loan, you will be referred to other federal or state assistance programs, such as FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program, which may cover essential disaster-related costs such as clothing, furniture, appliances, transportation and medical expenses.

Applicants will not be considered for ONA until they have applied to and been denied by SBA. You can get help by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or on-line at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
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The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) is the state's homeland security and emergency management agency. The agency works to identify and lessen the effects of emergencies, disasters and threats to Arkansas by developing effective prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery actions for all disasters and emergencies.
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 terrorism.

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 homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and covers the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

Disaster recovery assistance is available to any individual without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.

Editors: For more information on Arkansas disaster recovery, visit http://www.fema.gov or http://www.adem.arkansas.gov/.