After yet another City Line Apartments flood, FEMA steps in to help

Nov. 13--NEWPORT NEWS -- Roughly 100 City Line apartment residents lost couches, beds, TVs, end tables and almost anything touching the floor last month.

The list of damaged or broken items goes on for Newport News residents and others throughout the East Coast who were affected by Hurricane Matthew last month. President Barack Obama this week declared Newport News and three South Hampton Roads cities eligible for disaster grants and loans related to the hurricane damage. The financial reimbursement will cover damaged and broken items, hotel stays and any related medical bills.

City Line resident Amber Jenkins lost furniture, bed sets, clothes and a TV, and has been staying with her mother since the hurricane struck, she said.

"I need a peace of mind," Jenkins said Saturday afternoon, after registering with an on-site FEMA team at the apartment complex for financial assistance. "I'm ready to go back home."

Jenkins has lived in the complex at 155 Mytilene Drive in Newport News for two years. Before Hurricane Matthew, she hadn't dealt with flooding damage and cried when she saw the apartment damage.

FEMA offered assintance to residents displaced after Hurricane Matthew at City Line Apartments in Newport News.

FEMA offered assintance to residents displaced after Hurricane Matthew at City Line Apartments in Newport News.

City Line called for flooding assistance at least 11 times since 2003.

City Line was developed in the mid-1970s, before the property was established as a flood plain in 1979. Developers wouldn't have been able to construct the homes, or would have had to elevate the complex, if it was built after the 1979 flood plain establishment, city officials have said.

FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistant Paula Mojica said she'd spoken to two different City Line residents Saturday morning who told her they'd experienced flooding twice in the complex. The residents told Mojica they want a more permanent solution to ensure the flooding doesn't happen again.

Latoya Carlos, who lives in City Line with her 4-year-old son, said City Line has flooded twice in the four years she's live there. Damage from the last flooding cost her roughly $2,500, which her friend paid because she couldn't get federal assistance, she said. The FEMA assistance makes her feel "a whole lot better knowing there's help out there," Carlos said.

Individual reimbursements are capped at $33,300 per person. As of Friday, FEMA had registered and approved 85 Newport News residents for reimbursements totaling $104,805.50 according to Troy York, a media specialist with the agency.

FEMA will be in Newport News until January, seeking out residents who were affected and damaged by the hurricane. The team has located and registered about 60 City Line residents staying in nearby hotels. Reimbursement for Hurricane Matthew damage is open to anyone in Newport News who's suffered damage from the disaster, York said Saturday afternoon.

Renter's or disaster insurance is not required for reimbursement. Registration can be done online at disasterassistance.gov or by phone at 800-621-FEMA. Once a resident registers damage with FEMA, their home will be assessed for damage within 7 to 10 days. If the damage is approved, funds will be disbursed to the resident via mail, or online banking within an 7 to 10 days from the approved assessment.

The deadline to register for financial reimbursement is Jan. 3.

Smith can be reached by phone at 757-510-1663.

___

(c)2016 the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

Visit the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) at www.dailypress.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.