Do I qualify for hurricane relief?

DO I QUALIFY FOR HURRICANE RELIEF?

Dear Friend,

I wanted to reach out to update you on where we stand in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby.

Assistance for Individuals and Households

As of October 14th, all counties in the First Congressional District are eligible to apply for individual and public assistance from FEMA. Please note, not everyone in an impacted county will qualify for individual assistance. FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program provides financial assistance and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by a disaster, who have uninsured or underinsured necessary expenses and serious needs.

To apply for Individual Assistance, please visit www.disasterassistance.gov

If you were forced to vacate a rental property as a result of Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby, displacement assistance may be available. Displacement assistance covers up to 14 days of hotel costs for qualified applicants.

To apply for displacement assistance, call FEMA’s Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov

Click here to learn more about displacement assistance

Power Outages

The majority of power outages in GA-01 have been resolved thanks to the hard work of Georgia Power, Georgia EMCs, and our linemen.

If you are still experiencing outages, please call my Savannah office at 912-352-0101 to inform me.

A map of current outages is available on my website, here.

Agricultural Assistance

I am working tirelessly to secure disaster funding in the form of block grants that would go directly to our state department of agriculture. Currently, Georgia's farmers, ranchers, and growers may qualify for assistance from the USDA. For detailed information on how to apply for USDA's recovery assistance, click here.

The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) helps farmers and ranchers repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters and establishes methods for water conservation during severe drought.

For land to qualify for ECP funds, the damage from the natural disaster or severe drought must create new conservation problems that if not dealt with would:

Further damage the land
Significantly affect the land’s productive capacity
Represent damage from a natural disaster unusual for the area (an exception to this is damage from wind erosion)
Be too costly to repair without Federal assistance in order to return the land to agricultural production

If you have additional questions about ECP funding, visit USDA's website or contact your county's FSA office.

The Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) helps the owners of non-industrial private forests restore forest health damaged by natural disasters.

Here's how to determine if your forest is eligible:

For land to qualify for EFRP funds, the damage from the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that if not dealt with would:

Harm the natural resources on the land
Significantly affect future land use

Only owners of nonindustrial private forests with tree cover existing before the natural disaster occurred are eligible to apply. The land must be owned by a private individual, group, association, corporation or other private legal entity that has decision making authority on the land and doesn’t use the land for business purposes.

If you have additional questions about EFRP funding, visit USDA's website or contact your county's FSA office.

In addition, one of my top priorities when Congress returns in November is to pass the Disaster Reforestation Act (DRA) as part of a supplemental funding package. The DRA would amend our tax code so that landowners who farm trees can deduct the value of their timber loss from a natural disaster and be guaranteed some financial recovery after a catastrophic event.

I wrote about this bill in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, which you can read here.

Small Business Association (SBA)

Residents of all GA-01 counties are eligible to apply for SBA assistance. The following disaster loans are available:

Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.
Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.

While applications are being accepted, no applications will be approved until SBA disaster relief funds are replenished. This is a major concern, and I am calling on Congress to return to Washington, D.C. early to replenish the SBA's disaster relief funds, so that all communities have the necessary resources to recover. I sent a letter to Congressional leadership on this issue, which you can read here.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if my office can be of assistance. We are in this together, Georgia.

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Buddy Carter
Member of Congress