Disaster Services

Disaster Declarations Information

Programs that provide information about the disaster declaration status of states (and localities within states) that have experienced a specific situation such as a fire, flood, storm, earthquake, epidemic, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage or other similar condition that is beyond the ability of local and/or state authorities to manage. The process to request state and/or federal assistance after a disaster or emergency is initiated when the local governing body or the Governor submits a formal request to the appropriate state or federal office. Program and financial assistance vary depending on the type of declaration or proclamation, whether the situation constitutes an emergency or a disaster, and the type of assistance required. A declaration by the President of a federal major disaster or emergency is required to initiate the flow of federal resources.

Disaster Donations Coordination

Organizations that assume responsibility in the aftermath of a major disaster or large-scale emergency for soliciting and/or collecting donations from the general public and distributing those items to people who have suffered a loss and are currently in need. Donations may include critical services, money, groceries, drinking water, blankets, personal comfort kits, disposable diapers, clothing, household goods, medical supplies, cleaning supplies, hand tools, plastic sheeting, tar paper, building materials and other relief supplies.

Disaster Loans

Programs that provide low-interest loans for people whose homes, personal property or businesses have been destroyed or have suffered disaster-related damage. Some programs require that the community be declared a disaster area by the President or the Governor before making the loans available.

Disaster Related Case Management

Programs that provide a single point of contact for disaster assistance applicants who need a wide variety of services that may be provided by many different organizations. The objective is to create a coordinated system that enables an individual or family who has survived a disaster to provide information about their situation to one organization that serves as their advocate and helps them organize and access disaster related resources and implement a recovery plan that will help them achieve pre-disaster levels of functioning and equilibrium. Disaster-related case managers assess the individual's needs, coordinate the delivery of needed services, ensure that services are obtained in accordance with the recovery plan, and follow up and monitor progress to ensure that services are having a beneficial impact on the problem. The service is particularly critical in situations where large-scale deaths and injuries have occurred.

Disaster Related Clothing/Emergency Supplies

Programs that provide clothing, blankets and other essentials immediately following a major disaster or large-scale emergency for people who have experienced substantial losses as a result of the incident.

Disaster Related Shelter Services

Programs that arrange for shelter and/or a warm place for people to stay when dangerously cold weather is expected; and/or provide emergency shelter for people who have no place to stay as a result of a large-scale fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or a localized incident such as a house fire, toxic spill emergency or other environmental hazard that disrupts the normal functioning of a community.

Disaster Service Centers/Hotlines

Programs that establish one-stop centers that may be staffed by representatives from local, state and federal agencies, insurance companies and other disaster-related providers; or which operate hotlines that enable people to apply for financial and/or other assistance and/or to obtain the information they need to stabilize their current situation and begin to recover.

Disaster Services for Animals

Programs that provide emergency services for animals who have been threatened or affected by a major disaster or large-scale emergency that disrupts the normal functioning of a community.

Emergency Communications

Programs that provide services, often through one or more intermediaries, which enable two or more parties to communicate in emergency situations where normal means of communication are unavailable. Included are individuals (such as amateur radio or CB operators) and organizations (such as Amateur Radio Emergency Service) that provide alternative communications channels following a major disaster or large-scale emergency that disrupts the normal functioning of a community.

Evacuation Centers

Programs that provide a gathering point from which people whose safety is threatened by an impending disaster or large-scale emergency can be transported to less vulnerable areas and/or facilities in which people can take refuge for the duration of the incident. Evacuation centers have no sleeping accommodations, but may later be converted to mass shelter care sites.

Evacuation Transportation

Programs that provide an immediate and rapid means of transportation from an endangered location or area for people whose lives are threatened by an impending disaster or large-scale emergency. Included are programs that arrange for return transportation following a disaster once it is safe for evacuees to return home. Activities include acquisition of emergency transport vehicles, arrangements for use or reallocation of public and/or private vehicles, assessment of fuel availability and distribution, and development of evacuation contingency plans which identify alternative routes, vehicles and personnel as well as considerations for people with special needs including patients in health care facilities.

Extreme Cold Warming Centers

Programs that provide daytime or evening access to heated facilities during times of extreme cold for people who are temporarily at risk for exposure due to a power failure, fuel shortage, road closure, homelessness or other situations which make them vulnerable.

Extreme Heat Cooling Centers

Programs that provide air conditioned facilities which are open to the public during dangerously hot weather. Spending a few hours in an air-conditioned environment can bring down the body's core temperature and make it easier to handle the heat. Older and/or frail adults, homeless people, parents with small children and persons with health conditions that may be made worse by the weather should consider spending time in a cooling center, particularly between 1pm and 5pm when temperatures are at their highest. Cooling centers may also have water and other liquids available to protect against dehydration, and some allow pets.

Extreme Weather Shelters

Programs that provide overnight accommodations during times of extreme heat or cold for people who are temporarily at risk for exposure due to a power failure, fuel shortage, road closure, homelessness or other situations which make them vulnerable.

Fire Services

Programs that are responsible for preventing, investigating, controlling and extinguishing fires. Activities include fire safety education, firefighting, investigating the causes of suspicious fires, maintaining equipment and trained firefighters necessary for a quick and efficient response to fires when they occur, and enforcing fire codes which protect lives and property from fires and explosions arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, or from conditions hazardous to life and property in the use or occupancy of buildings or other premises.

Post Disaster Cleanup

Programs that provide financial assistance, volunteer labor, equipment and supplies or other forms of support to help clear away rubble and clean up the community following a major disaster or large-scale emergency that has wreaked havoc on the community.

Post Disaster Food Services

Programs that meet the basic nutritional needs of relief workers and/or individuals and families whose homes have been made uninhabitable by a disaster or large scale emergency and who have no other means of purchasing food and/or preparing a meal. Food assistance may also available to individuals who have experienced a localized incident such as a house fire.

Post Disaster Housing Assistance

Programs that provide for the short and long-term housing needs of individuals and families who have lost their place of residence in a major disaster or large-scale emergency by providing them with a mechanism for reporting damage, by arranging for temporary housing while their homes are being repaired or rebuilt, by helping them identify alternative short and/or long-term housing replacement arrangements, by supporting their ability to make structural repairs that will enable them to return to their homes, or by supporting their ability to rebuild. Some forms of post disaster housing assistance are generally also available to individuals who have experienced a localized incident such as a house fire that has made them temporarily homeless.

Post Disaster Legal Counseling Services

Programs staffed by volunteer lawyers who provide counseling and advice at no cost for low-income individuals and families who need assistance with insurance claims, landlord/tenant issues, mortgage/foreclosure issues, home repair contracts and contractors, replacement of wills and other legal documents destroyed in the disaster, drafting powers of attorney, consumer protection matters and other disaster-related legal issues. People who require further assistance are generally referred to a private lawyer who may be able to represent them at no fee or for a reduced fee. Included are programs that operate under the agreement between FEMA and the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association and programs offered by local bar associations or local legal services programs. Legal assistance in the FEMA/Bar Association program is limited to cases that will not produce a fee for the attorney, such as lawsuits in which the lawyer receives a percentage of money obtained through the suit.

Post Disaster Mental Health Services

Programs that provide a variety of services following a major disaster or large-scale emergency which help individuals cope with their own psychological reactions to the incident and/or prepare them to provide emotional support for family members, friends and neighbors who are feeling frightened, confused and no longer in control of their lives because of the event.

Post Disaster Safety Inspection/Evaluation

Programs that conduct building and/or mobile home inspections following a major disaster or large-scale emergency to evaluate their structural integrity and overall safety, to certify those that are safe to inhabit and to close and/or condemn those that are unsafe to enter. Inspectors look for structural damage including damage to foundations, floors, load-bearing walls, ceilings, and roofs as well as damage to components of fixed utilities such as gas, electric, water and sewage and/or installed heating and cooling systems.