Residents of Lincoln County can now apply for disaster assistance to help them recover from the severe storms and flooding between May 21 and June 14.
They join twelve counties already designated for state and federal help to individuals: Arkansas, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Jefferson, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell.
Flood survivors in Lincoln County can visit the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Desha County to obtain recovery information and disaster assistance.
The Disaster Recovery Center is located at:
DESHA COUNTY
First United Methodist Church
Fellowship Hall
230 Court Street
Dumas, AR 71639
Hours: Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Disaster survivors can visit any of the centers for assistance. Use the FEMA mobile app or visit www.fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers for center locations and times.
FEMA disaster assistance for homeowners and renters may include grants to help pay for temporary housing and minimal home repairs as well as other serious disaster-related unmet needs such as eligible medical and dental expenses and replacing essential personal property.
Those who live in Lincoln County who have already registered with FEMA do not need to re-apply. The registration is now active and being processed.
If you have registered with FEMA and reported damage to your house, you will receive a call from an inspector to arrange for a visit.
Here is a step-by-step process to get started:
• Document your damage – photos/video, list of damaged contents.
• Contact your insurance agent to see if there is coverage under homeowners, renters and/or flood insurance policies. You will need to submit insurance settlement information or denial to FEMA because FEMA cannot duplicate benefits.
Next, register with FEMA. Here’s how:
• Go online to disasterassistance.gov or disasterassistance.gov/es (for Spanish).
• Use the FEMA mobile app in English or Spanish.
• Call the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY) anytime from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.
All recovery centers are accessible to people with disabilities. Centers have assistive technology to aid in communication. To schedule an American Sign Language interpreter, call or text 717- 395-1379.
After applying with FEMA, some survivors may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Low-interest disaster loans from SBA are available for eligible survivors. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters recover from losses not covered by insurance grants or other sources. These disaster loans duplicate benefits from other agencies or organizations.
Residents and business owners should apply immediately if referred to SBA as part of the overall federal disaster recovery process, and they should not wait for insurance claims to be settled. There is no cost to apply for an SBA low-interest disaster loan and no obligation to accept one, if approved.
