It's been a month to the day since the historic flooding forced more than 1,200 residents from their homes in the San Diego neighborhoods of Southcrest, Shelltown, Mountain View and Encanto, and the nearby cities of Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, La Mesa and National City.
Since that time, a host of local organizations — governmental and otherwise — have thrown lifelines to the displaced, the vast majority of whom are among the poorest in the county and are without the resources to, say, rent another house, never mind a hotel room for a short stay.
San Diego's Historic Flooding
So it was welcome news this week when the White House declared that the flooding in San Diego on Jan. 22 qualified as a major disaster, activating FEMA assistance.
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So what does that mean, exactly, for locals? What's the process like, when will assistance arrive, how much aid will it mean for individuals, and which of their needs will be singled out for help from the federal government?
How can flood victims apply for FEMA assistance?
The FEMA app is a one-stop shop for victims to register for assistance, or click here for a desktop link or call 800-621-3362.
What information is FEMA going to ask for when registering?
- A current phone number victims can be contacted
- Address of the damaged primary residence
- Social Security number
- A general list of damages and losses
- Current telephone number
- Information about insurance coverage
- Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds
It's good to have as much documentation as possible, FEMA's external affairs officer Brady Penn told NBC 7 on Wednesday.
"So we do want people to continue to document their damages, take photos, save receipts, things along those lines," Penn said. "Every case is going to be different, depending on what assistance you are registering for, the process and the verification process will look different."
What assistance is available to people who register with FEMA?
- Temporary housing
- Essential home repairs
- Uninsured and underinsured personal property losses
- Other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance
Does FEMA have people in San Diego now?
The agency has had representatives in the region for a while, Penn said, but its staffers arrived in force after the president acknowledged its disaster status this week.
"Over the next few days, we expect dozens of FEMA personnel to be here, going out in the communities in coming days, as I mentioned, to meet survivors where they are, to provide services and help them get registered for FEMA assistance on a case-by-case basis," Penn said.
Disaster recovery centers open
Two Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Centers will open Friday, March 1, to help flood victims.
The centers are located at the:
- Spring Valley County Library, 836 Kempton St., Spring Valley; and
- Mountain View Community Center, 641 South Boundary St., San Diego.
They will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Residents impacted by the storms can register with FEMA for federal assistance and disaster loans.
How much aid can flood victims get from FEMA?
While FEMA is here to administer multiple individual-assistance programs, there is a cap on financial aid of $42,500 per household. That umbrella payment would cover housing assistance, property loss and home repairs.
"FEMA individual household assistance will be able to provide grants for things like home repairs," Penn said. "I think that that's often, particularly in a flooding event such as this — you know, a lot of people lost a great deal of personal items, have a great deal of damage to their homes: Individual assistance will be able to help reimburse for some of those costs. Personal items, including potentially personal vehicle, if it's your primary vehicle — often, grants are available for that as well. And then, even renters are able to get some assistance if they had damages to personal items or vehicles and things like that as well."
What is Critical Needs Assistance?
The agency has something called critical needs assistance, currently $750, that survivors can potentially use for whatever they need right after a disaster: baby formula or food, for example. States have to specifically request that category of assistance, which California may not have done. Victims still have to apply, and there is some vetting to prevent fraud.
Will Critical Needs Assistance be offered to local flooding victims?
The short answer, at least for now, is no. Penn told NBC 7 that he was unaware of any critical-needs assistance being delivered locally at this time.
"There are additional programs that may be activated as time goes on, as the state applies for different programs, or basically takes action to set those in motion," Penn said.
Do flooding victims have to apply for a loan from the Small Business Administration?
Some disaster survivors, despite not owning or operating businesses, have to apply for a loan with the Small Business Administration, Penn said
"The first step for folks, after checking with their insurance and checking on their insurance coverage, is to proceed to register with FEMA," Penn said, "and on a case-by-case basis, they may be directed to apply with the Small Business Administration or they may proceed with FEMA."
This step of applying to the SBA, which will be done away with under new guidelines beginning March 24, determines if recipients get low-interest loans for rebuilding if they qualify.
"Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate," according to the SBA. "Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles."
Business owners can, of course, also apply for a loan of up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property, equipment, inventory, and other business assets, the county said. Interest on SBA disaster loans will not accrue until 12 months from the date of the first disbursement.
The Small Business Administration will be opening a Business Recovery Center in National City on Feb. 26. The center will be set up at the Southwestern College Higher Education Center located at 880 National City Blvd. National City.
The Business Recovery Center will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and appointments are not necessary.
Do people get any housing assistance from FEMA?
Housing assistance is provided to individuals registering with FEMA on a case-by-case basis, and in some cases may involve retroactive reimbursement. Penn, who said FEMA trailers would not be coming to San Diego to house victims, stressed the need to document expenses. Caveat: Whatever financial assistance is provided by FEMA is part of the $42,500 cap, not in addition to it.
How long will people have to wait for financial assistance from FEMA?
Victims who don't have to apply for the SBA loan and who are able to get through all the paperwork correctly the first time could see money drop into their bank accounts within weeks of registering with FEMA, Penn said. Registration should only take about 20-30 minutes, according to him. After that, an inspection is performed within 7-10 business days, then most people should receive a determination letter shortly afterward.
Even if the paperwork was done right, there may still be delays, however.
"But depending on the case, there may be more documentation required, there may be further inspections required, or it's possible that it'll be determined that the Small Business Administration is a better fit, in some cases," Penn said.
If their assistance request is approved and they provided their direct-deposit information correctly, a FEMA grant could be deposited into their bank accounts a few days after they receive their determination letter.
Applicants need to carefully read all communications from FEMA, Penn stressed, especially the determination letter.
"A lot of people receive a determination letter and are confused, basically confuse it for a rejection letter or something like that," Penn said. "It's actually, a lot of times, something that additional paperwork or additional documentation is needed."
New FEMA guidelines too late for San Diego flooding victims
Sadly for San Diegans affected by flooding in January, the agency's new streamlined guidelines — the first in 20 years — will not go into effect until March 24 and will only apply to disasters that occur after then.
Under previous rules, homeowners who received payments from their insurance company for home repairs that were not enough to cover all of the damage were essentially out of luck when it came to getting help from FEMA. After March 24, those homeowners can apply to FEMA for help. Deanne Criswell, who heads the Federal Emergency Management Agency, gave an example of a homeowner who has $80,000 in damage but receives only $45,000 from the insurance company. Previously, FEMA couldn’t help them because their insurance payout already exceeded the agency’s assistance cap of $42,500 per disaster. Now, homeowners can get money from the agency to make up the difference. This rule change comes at a time when homeowners in places like Louisiana, Florida and California are facing skyrocketing deductibles and fights with insurance companies over damage assessments that have made it difficult even for people with insurance to recover from hurricanes or wildfires.
Also new: Anytime a disaster is declared that includes FEMA’s individual assistance funding stream, $750 critical assistance payments will be available. A vetting process will occur to prevent fraud. Not every disaster will include these payments. Many declared disasters are more limited in scope.
