As North Carolinians repair or rebuild their homes damaged by the flooding that followed Hurricane Matthew, FEMA and home improvement stores in Cumberland, Onslow and Dare counties have teamed up to provide free information, tips and literature on making homes stronger and safer.
FEMA mitigation specialists will be on hand next week to answer questions and offer home improvement tips along with proven methods to prevent or reduce damage from future disasters as well as offer tips and techniques to build hazard resistant homes. Most of the information and the free publications provided are geared for do-it-yourself work and general contractors.
Recovery topics to be covered include flood insurance, elevating utilities and rebuilding flooded homes.
FEMA advisors will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6 through Saturday, Dec. 10 at The Home Depot at the following locations:
Cumberland County
2060 Skibo Road
Fayetteville, NC 28314
Onslow County
479 Western Blvd. Hwy 17
Jacksonville, NC 28546
Dare County
5300 N. Croatan Hwy.
Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
Free reference booklets with information on protecting your home from flood damage will be available at all locations. More information about strengthening property can be found at www.fema.gov/what-mitigation.
North Carolina survivors who have questions about their flood insurance policies and coverage should call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (Option 2) for voice, 711 and Video Relay Service. If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585. Specialists can help with service claims, provide general information regarding policies and offer technical assistance to aid in recovery.
For more information on the North Carolina recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4285 and readync.org. Follow FEMA on Twitter at @femaregion4 and North Carolina Emergency Management @NCEmergency.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 or TTY at 800-462-7585.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow FEMA on twitter at @femaregion4. Download the FEMA app with tools and tips to keep you safe before, during, and after disasters.
Dial 2-1-1 or 888-892-1162 to speak with a trained call specialist about questions you have regarding Hurricane Matthew; the service is free, confidential and available in any language. They can help direct you to resources. Call 5-1-1 or 877-511-4662 for the latest road conditions or check the ReadyNC mobile app, which also has real-time shelter and evacuation information. For updates on Hurricane Matthew impacts and relief efforts, go to ReadyNC.org or follow N.C. Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook. People or organizations that want to help ensure North Carolina recovers can visit NCdisasterrelief.org or text NCRecovers to 30306.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.