If you are one of the many Vermonters whose home was damaged by flooding earlier this month, public resources for temporary housing and home repair may already be available.
FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to residents in 6 Vermont counties. This “individual assistance” can include grants for owners and renters for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people recover from the effects of the disaster. Residents can begin by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621- 3362 or by using the FEMA App in English and Spanish languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.
Regardless of the county you live in, reporting home damage is important for planning resources needed for the state’s recovery. Vermont Emergency Management and Vermont 211 have set up an intake form to report damages. This reporting will be used to create a database and allow state and federal agencies to communicate directly as other types of assistance comes online. The damage form can be found here: https://vermont211.org/resident-form.
For other forms of assistance. please see the State of Vermont’s growing list of flood resources at https://www.vermont.gov/flood.
VHFA staff are in communication with rental properties we have financed to understand the extent of the damage, needs of the residents and resources needed for recovery and repair. If you are a property manager of a VHFA-financed property that has been damaged by flooding, please reach out to us at [email protected].