Residents still dealing with making themselves and their homes whole after Hurricane Ida may be growing tired of the phone calls and web searches and other tedious minutiae that comes along with reporting storm damage, but Guy Williams, president of Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, told WWL Radio that it’s a task that could prove fruitful in the long run.
Williams said he expects federal aid to be virtually guaranteed because of the sheer scope of Ida’s destructive path… and the fact that its wrath was strong enough to impact the more populated hubs of civilization in the northeast U.S.
He said that when Ida began pounding New York and New Jersey, it was a virtual lock that the needed after-storm assistance would garner governmental support.
“When the head of the Senate’s district has flooded, then you’ll have real interest. So with Chuck Schumer’s constituents pushing him, there’s a good chance of aid to come,” Williams said.
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He did note that there is an impending deadline for people to be aware of: October 28 is the last day to apply to FEMA for Ida aid.
But even before FEMA, Williams recommended residents start with their own home insurance because the state’s insurance commissioner Jim Donelon has already pushed for some extra lodging help due to extenuating circumstances.
“Normally, you only reimburse when there’s a mandatory evacuation,” Williams said. “This storm was an exception. This storm came up quickly.
There literally was no time for mandatory [evacuation]... so what he’s told the insurance companies is that [they] have to pay anyway.”
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He said there are a number of categories of expenses that insurance companies should cover:
Loss of use of home
Evacuation expenses
Gasoline
Lodging
From there, Williams says the next step would be FEMA, who can be reached either over the phone at 800-621-3362, online at DisasterAssistance.gov, or at any of their pop-up, in-person field offices, which can be located through FEMA’s website.
Williams says the reason FEMA should be your next stop is their ability to award grant money that covers “basic home repairs to restore habitability.”
“Whatever is needed to get the home back to habitability, FEMA will make grants,” Williams said. “Up to $250 to buy a chainsaw, up to $800 to buy or rent a generator… those are things people should take advantage of because, once again, those are grants.”
Williams said FEMA’s grant money is extremely useful for rental assistance during the repair of an uninhabitable home or for replacement of personal property that was lost due to storm damage.
“I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying it’s equitable.
But you do want to apply.”