Good News For NJ Hurricane Irene Victims

Here at Paul Davis Restoration, your safety, and the protection of your home and family, is our primary concern. That's why we wanted to make sure you had heard the newest development for Hurricane Irene Victims.

The federal government and the FEMA agency has extended the deadline for NJ victims of Hurricane Irene to apply for disaster aid. NJ residents affected by hurricane Irene must now apply for disaster related aid by November 30th. The Press of Atlantic City wrote the following article on the subject,

"We've extended the registration deadline for people who for whatever reason, have not had the opportunity to register for assistance." William L. Vogel, FEMA's federal coordinating officer, said in a statement. The goal is to ensure all elligible Irene survivors have the chance to seek assistance."

Disaster assistance to individuals could include grants to help pay for temporary housing needs, essential home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources, FEMA said. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are also available for homeowners, renters and business owners to repair or replace real or personal property, FEMA officials said.

Federal disaster recovery centers remain open at Hamilton Mall in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, and at the Cumberland County Emergency 911 Communications and Training Center in Upper Deerfield Township. Those centers are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The disaster recovery centers in Cape May and Ocean counties have closed.

FEMA spokesman Ed Edahl said the centers in Atlantic and Cumberland counties will remain open as long as they remain busy.

“That’s really a call we make as things go along,” he said. “As traffic thins out, we try to accommodate people in other ways. Right now, the traffic has been strong, which is one reason for the extension.”

Edahl said New Jersey residents filed more than 8,300 disaster claims related to Hurricane Irene. He said he didn’t have a breakdown of that number by county.

FEMA officials said on Oct. 4 that more than 70,700 disaster claims filed up to that date included 2,932 in Atlantic County, 419 in Cape May County, 1,954 in Cumberland County and 830 in Ocean County.

Edahl said that, as of Friday, the number of disaster claims filed out of the disaster recovery centers totaled 590 in Atlantic County, 549 in Cumberland County, 325 in Cape May County and 95 in Ocean County.

People can also register damage claims at disasterassistance.gov or at m.fema.gov. People can also call FEMA at 800-621-3362.

Officials in South Jersey were so worried about the potential devastation that Hurricane Irene could cause when it struck on Aug. 27 and 28 that mandatory evacuations were ordered for all of Cape May County and parts of Atlantic County.

Cumberland County suffered extensive rain-caused flooded that further damaged some roads, bridges and dams battered during a storm that hit on Aug. 14.

Six banks eventually agreed to offer low-interest loans to Cumberland County residents who suffered property damage related to Hurricane Irene. More information about those loans can be found atwww.co.cumberland.nj.us."

Was your home or property damaged by Hurricane Irene or flooding? Call the experts at Paul Davis Restoration of Northeast NJ today!