Those who apply may qualify for low-interest loans, housing grants or other financial assistance grants. The deadline to apply is Feb. 19.
Some of the following programs are available:
* Housing grants: If your insurance did not cover the damage to your home, you may be eligible for alternate rental housing or temporary shelter and/or emergency repairs to make your residence safe to live in until more permanent repairs can be made.
* Loans for individuals, families and small businesses: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low interest and business disaster loans to uninsured or underinsured people who qualify. Loans can cover insurance deductibles.
* Financial Assistance Grants: Examples include medical, dental and funeral expenses, transportation and other property costs. Grants under this program are very limited. The average grant awarded is approximately $2,500.
Anyone with uninsured individual, family or business losses should take the next step and make an application to FEMA for assistance.
There are three ways to register:
* Online at www.fema.gov/assistance, 24 hours a day.
* By phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or 1-800-462-7585 for speech or hearing impaired. Lines are staffed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST), seven days a week and language translation services are provided.
* In person at North Seattle Community College. The school, in cooperation with the city, is hosting a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) to help people with their application and get them through the process. The DRC will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, contact the Seattle Office of Emergency Management at 206-233-5089.[[In-content Ad]]