Anchorage, Alaska – Residents in the Copper River, Kuspuk, Lower Kuskokwim, Lower Yukon, and Yukon Flats Regional Educational Attendance Areas (REAAs) affected by the ice jam and snow melt flooding that occurred between May 12 and June 3, 2023, have one week left to apply for FEMA disaster assistance.

The deadline is October 23, 2023.

Even if you have already registered for the state of Alaska’s disaster assistance program, you must also register with FEMA to determine if you may be eligible to receive additional funds through the agency.

FEMA assistance is unable to duplicate benefits offered through insurance or other disaster assistance programs, but if your losses or damage go beyond disaster assistance available from other sources – or include items or categories not covered by other assistance – you may be eligible for additional funds from FEMA.

Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience are another important form of federal disaster assistance. These loans are not just for businesses. Homeowners, renters and private nonprofit organizations can also apply. The first step to get all the eligible federal aid you may be entitled to, is to register with FEMA before the close of business on October 23. Residents and businesses referred by FEMA to SBA must also complete their loan application by the October 23^rd deadline.

As of the close of business October 15^th, FEMA had received 472 total registrations and approved more than $2.3 million in assistance for the spring ice jam and snowmelt flooding. 

FEMA and SBA disaster assistance staff have visited numerous communities in the impacted areas. If you are unable to meet with FEMA staff visiting your community, you can still apply for FEMA assistance by visiting disasterassistance.gov, using the FEMA mobile app, or contacting a FEMA specialist by calling 1-866-342-1699. This hotline has staff trained to answer Alaska-specific questions. For questions about SBA loans, call 1-800-659-2955.

If you require a reasonable accommodation — such as language translation or interpretation, mobility assistance, or sign language interpretation — call or text 907-727-6221 or email FEMA-language-access-request@fema.dhs.gov. You can also notify staff in the field.

###

  asistance, deadline, disaster, fema, registration