NEW YORK—Residents of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie counties recovering from severe floods that brought damage to the region in August can exhale a small sigh of relief, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted the state’s request for assistance to renters, homeowners and small businesses on Friday.
“This is certainly good news for flood survivors in the three declared counties,” stated Governor David. A. Paterson. “I want to thank President Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for their quick and positive action to my request for assistance for people and businesses in those flood-ravaged Western New York counties,” he added.
The action comes on the heels of the previous decision, announced by FEMA on Tuesday of last week, to grant assistance for emergency response and restoration of public property, including debris removal, and road and bridge repairs.
The new measure will grant assistance to affected individuals, including:
• Funding for housing repairs and availability of temporary housing for up to 18 months.
• Availability of disaster grants to supplement qualified expenses not covered by insurance, such as replacement of personal property, and transportation, medical, dental and funeral costs.
• Availability of low-interest disaster loans to cover uninsured property losses and facilitate repairs.
• Access to disaster aid programs, such as counseling, unemployment assistance and legal aid.
