Irma aftermath: Locals can apply for FEMA, DUA help

Sept. 15--Marion County is among the latest batch of counties to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency Individual Assistance and potential financial help for residents whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Irma.

The federal agency is encouraging county residents, especially those without home insurance or those under-insured, to apply for financial help as soon as possible. In a FEMA press release Thursday, the agency said that while FEMA will not duplicate private homeowner's insurance payments, homeowners may be eligible for money or low-interest loans after insurance claims are finalized. The damage only need have occurred due to Hurricane Irma beginning Sept. 4.

The application process takes less than 20 minutes.

In addition, FEMA outreach teams are canvassing Florida communities hurt by Irma to help residents register for disaster relief and identify needs. Some of that help could include temporary housing, home repairs and medically-related medical, dental and funeral and burial costs.

For those wondering whether to apply, FEMA spokesman Garry Petty said to let the federal government worry about that.

"I tell people that they do not need to make the decision whether they will receive any FEMA grant money. They need to let someone else make that decision for them. But they need to make the first step (and apply)," he said during a telephone interview.

"There is help and they might be leaving money on the table," he said.

Thursday, Cathleen Nuce stood in her back yard by her Mustang gelding, Lil' Jon, both of them ankle deep in brown water. Lil' Jon's barn and Nuce's home but had eight inches water in them. The home is just west of Belleview Middle School on Southeast 32nd Avenue.

Nuce was flooded in 1999 and knew not to wait to ask for help. She submitted her FEMA application for assistance Wednesday for her two-bedroom, one-bath home. She has no homeowners insurance. She said the house is paid for. Her previous insurer wanted her to cut down a large tree that, it said, threatened the house.

"I told them I'm not going to cut down a 200-year-old oak tree," she said.

The lower portion of the home's walls are saturated, as well as the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity. She thinks with $20,000 she could repair the home, if she did much of the work on her own. She is living with her mother in Ocala until the water recedes.

Nuce has a kayak to get to the barn and her house. Another horse, Gypsy, a llama and a gray cat roam what remains dry of the three-acre lot.

Nuce said she may not get a dime out of the federal government, but at least she is trying.

Either way, she said. "I'm going to rebuild."

Her neighbor, John Eller, said he never had much faith in insurance.

"I've never been a big fan," he said, standing by a pond of water that used to be his backyard.

He always thought that if his house was destroyed, he would pay to rebuild it out of his own pocket.

But looking at his shed, tools and $3,000 riding mower underwater, he said, "you never think this would happen."

He said he is still lucky, the house itself held up to the storm with no damage. As for damage to the rest of the property, the former Lowes manager said he will apply for federal government help, especially if roving FEMA teams come to his neighborhood.

"Oh yeah, I will talk to them. I'll tell them anything they want to know," he said, looking at the seat rest of his lawnmower, a dozen yards from his home and the only part of the machine out of the water. He has lived in Florida for 40 years.

After the water recedes and he makes repairs with anything FEMA gives him, Eller said he will move back to North Carolina near his sister.

There are now 37 Florida counties that are individually designated by FEMA for Individual Assistance help.

Along with federal workers who will help people register if they telephone FEMA's Hotline, the roving teams will also help residents register and provide application updates. FEMA reminds property Floridians to ask for photo identification.

Before you register for potential FEMA help, know your:

--Social Security number

--Address where the damage occurred

--Current mailing address

--Current telephone number

--Insurance information

--Routing and account number for checking or savings account, which allows FEMA to directly transfer disaster assistance funds into a bank account

--Description of disaster-caused damage and losses

If you qualify for FEMA Individual Assistance grant help, you are not required to pay back the grant to FEMA and there is no income threshold for grants, according to the agency.

In some cases, you may be referred to the Small Business Administration for a low interest disaster loan. These loans for homeowners and businesses must be repaid but could lower overall-mortgage interest rates.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday that Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available to Florida businesses and residents whose employment or self-employment was interrupted as a result of Hurricane Irma.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is accepting DUA applications from residents and businesses in several counties, including Marion, but you must file by Oct. 16.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available to those who:

--Worked or were self-employed or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment

--Are not able to work because of damage to the place of employment as a result of the disaster

--Can show that the work that they can no longer perform was their principal source of income

--Do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits from any state

--Cannot work because of an injury as a result of the disaster

--Became the breadwinner or major supporter of a household because of the death of the head of household

To file a DUA claim, go to http://www.floridajobs.org/ or call 1-800-385-3920.

Reach Fred Hiers at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and 352-397-5914.

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