Disaster Recovery
Residents can soon apply for help with housing, home repairs and other disaster-related needs, but the federal application portal is not yet live.
Escambia County has received a FEMA Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for Hurricane Isaias. The declaration allows residents impacted by the storm to apply for help with housing, home repairs and other disaster-related needs.
- Residents will be able to apply at DisasterAssistance.gov. The county cautions that the application portal is not currently live. The website will be updated once it is available.
With the declaration, Escambia County residents have access to critical FEMA programs:
- Housing assistance
- Crisis counseling
- Disaster unemployment assistance
- Disaster legal services and case management
More information is available on the FEMA Individual Assistance page.
How to register with FEMA
Before you can file a claim for assistance, you must first register with FEMA in one of three ways:
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 (TTY 1-800-462-7585). The toll-free numbers are open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.
- Register online at DisasterAssistance.gov, enter your location and click “Apply Online.”
- Download the FEMA app on your mobile device and register through the app.
FEMA will verify eligibility and need before any assistance is offered. Answers to common questions are in the FEMA assistance FAQ.
By law, FEMA can’t provide benefits for losses covered by insurance.
Insurance matters. Residents with insurance may still qualify for FEMA assistance for items their policies do not cover.
Eight counties qualify. Escambia is one of eight Florida counties to secure a Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Isaias authorizing Individual Assistance:
- Bay
- Escambia
- Gulf
- Holmes
- Okaloosa
- Santa Rosa
- Walton
- Washington
For more on Hurricane Isaias and available resources, visit floridadisaster.org.
