Understanding a Disaster Declaration

Too many people, including business owners and even local officials do not fully understand how the process of disaster declarations work. Before the President can make a disaster declaration and commit funds and resources to a disaster the Governor of a State must first make a declaration.

Here is a little bit more on how this process works brought to you by ABC KCAU-TV:

A disaster declaration request can be made by the governor of a state through the regional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) office to the president of the United States.

 To request a disaster declaration, state and federal officials conduct joint preliminary damage assessments (PDAs) to estimate the extent of the disaster and its impact on individuals and public facilities. This information is then included in the governor's request to show that state and local government can't effectively respond and that federal assistance is necessary.

 If a disaster declaration is declared by the president, federal programs will be activated to assist in disaster response and recovery efforts. The disaster declaration can include means for either public or individual assistance or both.

 Public Assistance: Through the Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program, FEMA provides supplemental federal disaster grant assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP) organizations. The PA Program can also provide help to lessen potential damages from future events.

 Individual Assistance: Homeowners, renters & businesses owners may be eligible to receive assistance for property that has been damaged or destroyed and whose loss is not covered by insurance. The assistance is not intended to restore damaged property to its condition before the disaster.

 Additional information on rebuilding and recovering from a disaster can be found on the FEMA website at http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm

 The state of Nebraska is currently in the PDA collection and assessment process. Once the process is completed a determination will be made on whether the state has met the damage threshold necessary to request a Disaster Declaration.

Comments

[<a href="http://locksmithcharlottenc.org/category/]

Hey! I just noticed another message in another blog that seemed like this. How have you learnt all this stuff? That’s one cool post.

[Keith Erwood]

Thanks. I learned from a combination of real world experience and years of studying.