FEMA assists Colorado Springs flood victims [Gazette, The (CO)]

Jana Vigilante may have foundation damage from the rash of recent flooding in Colorado Springs.

She's not sure.

All she knows is that her home off West Cheyenne Road, where she has lived the past 15 years with her husband, Mark, suffered water damage.

She didn't even know that she could get help, because the damage wasn't massive to her home when Cheyenne Creek overflowed its banks.

Other homes suffered much worse damage, she said.

It wasn't until she spoke to someone from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that she learned the damage may be worse than she thought and that help could be available for whatever her insurance didn't cover.

Two FEMA Corps teams rolled into Colorado Springs on Saturday to help homeowners, renters, nonprofits and business owners who suffered flood damage. The teams began canvassing flood-hit areas, surveying damage and contacting homeowners.

FEMA Corps is a partnership that includes AmeriCorps and Corporation for National and Community Service.

Their mission is to help with disaster response and recovery while at the same time help young people work their way into emergency management as a career.

It's part informational for survivors, but the effort includes mapping of damage and registering flood victims.

There is plenty of help available, even for items that aren't covered by insurance, said Renee Bafalis, FEMA spokeswoman.

"A lot of people think their insurance will cover it," she said. "But some people have insurance that doesn't include flood."

There are all sorts of expenses resulting from flooding, including renter losses, where FEMA might be able to help, she said.

"Medical expenses resulting from the flood, we might be able to assist you with that," Bafalis said.

Vigilante didn't think she would need help since her flooding seemed minor.

Underneath the house in her crawl space, she found areas where the soil was moist.

It could be worse than she thought, FEMA told her, and the best thing would be to register with FEMA and submit claims to her insurance company and FEMA, team member Randy Collier said.

"By filing, we can electronically determine her entitlements," Collier said.

It takes three days for an inspector to visit the home and evaluate the damage and about 14 days for the homeowner to get notification from FEMA, he said.

For information, go to the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 375 Printers Parkway, off Airport Road in Colorado Springs.