Storm debris and ruined household goods are common throughout disaster areas. (Photo: Greg Childress)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted Gov. Josh Stein’s request for an extension for state, tribal, and local governments, as well as some non-profit organizations, to apply for its Public Assistance program. The new deadline is April 7.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides supplemental grants to help communities respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies. The program — FEMA’s largest grant program — provides funding for emergency assistance to save lives and to help permanently restore community infrastructure affected by a disaster.
“I am grateful to FEMA and the Trump administration for granting our request to extend the deadline to apply for this critical program,” Stein said in a press release. “Communities across North Carolina are in need of increased federal resources to remove debris and restore public facilities, and public assistance grants have been critical to their local recovery. I encourage city and county governments and non-profits to seize the moment and apply for these grants.”
The news about the Public Assistance grants comes a week after FEMA granted Stein’s request for a 30-day extension for the Individual Assistance Program that provides resources directly to disaster survivors. The FEMA Public Assistance program provides reimbursement cost share funding for units of state, local, tribal, and some non-profit organizations to offset costs associated with the response and recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.
Eligible government units and non-profit organizations in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Forsyth, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lee, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Nash, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians with uninsured losses from Tropical Storm Helene may be eligible to apply for FEMA assistance.
Governments and non-profits can visit https://www.fema.gov/assistance/public to apply. Disaster survivors that need assistance can still apply for FEMA assistance by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov.