HURRICANE MATTHEW RELIEF INFORMATION

UPDATED: November 2 3:45pm

Call 211 for shelters, food assistance, and storm recovery info

Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies

Call 511 for roadway conditions

On October 10, President Obama declared a major disaster for several North Carolina counties in order to receive assistance for Hurricane Matthew damage. Grant assistance provided by FEMA may include funds to help with costs such as rent, temporary housing, rent, moving, storage, repairs to damaged or destroyed property, transportation, small business loans, farm recovery, as well as medical and dental expenses during the recovery period.

North Carolina residents should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but under-insured applicants may receive help after their insurance claims have been settled.

Applying for Assistance

If you have experienced additional expenses or damage as a result of Hurricane Matthew and live in Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Tyrrell, Wake, Washington, Wayne, or Wilson county, register with FEMA in the following ways:

• Apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Call at 1-800-621-3362
• For those with speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY: 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), calls 1-800-621-3362.

These toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice; operators are standing by to assist survivors in multiple languages.

D-SNAP

ADDITIONALLY, Individuals that have been affected by Hurricane Matthew and are not current recipients of Food and Nutrition Service benefits may qualify for D-SNAP.  It has been approved for residents of Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Halifax and Pasquotank counties. Now, A total of 37 counties across eastern North Carolina have been approved for Disaster Food and Nutrition Service benefits.  The state will review the D-SNAP eligibility of all North Carolina counties that are declared for Individual Assistance and will submit additional waiver requests to the USDA as appropriate. 

What You Will Need to Apply

• Social Security number
• Address of the damaged home or apartment
• Description of the damage
• Information about your insurance coverage
• Current contact telephone number
• Address where you can receive mail
• Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.

Additional Resources

• The Internal Revenue Service has advised that taxpayers affected by the hurricane may qualify for penalty relief if they are unable to meet Monday’s extended deadline for filing 2015 tax returns. Taxpayers in counties that have been approved for the Individual Assistance program (listed above) will have until March 15, 2017 to file returns that are due Monday, the 17th of October. Taxpayers who have been impacted but reside outside of those counties may receive a penalty notice. If this happens, the taxpayer can request an abatement of the penalties by explaining, in writing, how they have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew. 
• Businesses, non-profits, homeowners, and renters affected by the severe storms and flooding on Sept. 21, 2016, can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA loans are referred via the FEMA Disaster Assistance registration (link above).
• Farmers who have an agricultural emergency can call 1-866-645-9403, and find additional information at www.ncagr.gov/disaster
• For flood insurance questions, please call 800-621-3362 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and select option 2. Call center staff will be available to assist with information regarding policies, offer technical flood guidance to aid in recovery, and answer other flood insurance questions.
• American Red Cross: 1-800-768-8048.
• Additional Information can be found at: https://readync.org