fema skeptic wrote:

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I lost my home, had no federal flood insurance, and was not in a flood zone but am now dealing with the pile of lumber, trees, automobiles, sand, brine, and sludge atop my home.  
If you know how to get FEMA $ for the average person who isn't "poor" but has a mortgage on a concrete slab - please share. 
FEMA has already denied my application and referred me to the SBA so I can owe more money and have less.
Please share any advice on how to deal with FEMA as it would be greatly appreciated.
Currently homeles but looking to rebuild on the Gulf Coast 

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Skeptic,

The following is taken directly from the FEMA website:

"Individuals, families, farmers and businesses are eligible for federal assistance if they live or own a business in a county declared a Major Disaster Area, incur sufficient property damage or loss, and, depending on the type of assistance, do not have the insurance or resources to meet their needs.

To apply for Assistance to Individuals and Households, all you have to do is call the special tollfree telephone number, 1-800-621-FEMA (TTY: 1-800-462-7585) and register. Specially trained operators at one of FEMA's National Processing Service Centers will process your application. This assistance includes housing assistance (grants or services for home repairs, rental of another place to live temporarily, lodging expenses reimbursement, home replacement, and in special circumstances, permanent housing construction). It also includes grants for other needs, such as medical, dental, funeral, and transporation expenses. SBA and FSA applications may be made at locally-announced locations."

If you are having problems getting assistance, I highly recommend that you immediately contact your US Congressional Representative and Senator to report this. (If you are on the Gulf Coast, your Representative should be Gene Taylor and your Senator will be Trent Lott.) As a disaster victim, you should qualify for FEMA assistence at some level, depending on the amount of home/business insurance you carried respectively. Lott and Taylor's offices should help you in getting this assistence, but I will warn you that you are dealing with the Federal Government and this often involves a significent waiting period, even when they are moving at their fastest speed.

If for some reason you are not granted assistence, contact one of the major news media outlets, such as ABC's 20/20 or NBC's Nightline. I am sure that there are going to be plenty of "heartless government agency screws the little guy" stories being produced and displayed in the coming weeks and months and, if yours is one of them, FEMA will suddenly move mountains in mere moments in order to avoid further national embaressment.

Gnome Watcher

To all who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina:

This is the official Federal Emergency Management Agency website:


http://www.fema.gov/


I would recommend visiting this site first before calling and starting the bureacratic process of attempting to obtain assistence. There are many links on the site that can help you determine whether or not you are qualified for aid.

Other than that, I still stand by the advice I posted above.

Gnome Watcher