City of St. Clair Shores issued the following announcement on Sept 29.
Macomb and Oakland Counties were added to the presidential disaster declaration for storm damage, incurred on the evening of June 25 into June 26. This makes residents of Macomb eligible to be reimbursed by FEMA for eligible, substantiated losses that are not covered by another source.
FEMA representatives will be on the ground canvassing in Eastpointe, Warren, and St. Clair Shores for the next several days, starting tomorrow 9/29/21. Below is some important information for residents to know while looking for assistance from FEMA due to the storm.
- The process is run through FEMA, not the City of St. Clair Shores.
- Anyone interested in applying for assistance can start the process by doing one of three things: they can apply online at disasterassistance.gov; they can call (800)621-3362, or they can download and apply through the FEMA app.
- FEMA will review their application and contact them if the application meets the basic criteria for inclusion.
- FEMA will be opening a Disaster Resource Center (DRC) in Macomb and/or Oakland County or directing residents to the centers already open in Wayne County (still to be determined). Eventually, all applicants will have to visit the DRC to substantiate their claim (meaning they’ll have to show proof of costs incurred for review by FEMA prior to being approved). Once the DRC is running, residents will likely be able to visit for assistance with the application process or to learn more about available resources.
- Individual Assistance (IA) typically takes the form of grants or low-interest loans to residents.
- IA is only paid to reimburse costs that were not otherwise recoverable (i.e, you can’t collect IA for anything insurance covered).
- IA will only pay for costs necessary to return a structure to a livable state. Examples of eligible expenses might include: replacement of damaged furnace or air conditioning unit, replacement of damaged washer/dryer, replacement of a damaged hot water heater, replacement/repair of damaged electrical.
- IA will not cover the replacement costs for personal items such as televisions, stereo equipment, or other personal belongings.
- IA typically does not pay for repairs to finished spaces in basements, unless these spaces are proven to be necessary living space (so they’ll repair a bedroom that someone lives in, but not a home bar).
- Eventually, reimbursement comes directly from FEMA.
- Specific questions should be directed to FEMA: 800-621-3362.
- You may also email Kristina.Krieger@macombgov.org if you have any questions
- Tanger Dukes Pratt is the FEMA Intergovernmental/Congressional Affairs Manager assigned to Macomb County and Oakland County, you can reach him by phone at (202) 716-5921, or email Tanger.Pratt@fema.dhs.gov
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