In response to the impact of the remnants of Hurricane Ida a federal disaster was declared for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by President Biden on September 10th. The declaration provided assistance to Montgomery County and seven other counties. Since then declaration more than $35.8 million in federal assistance has been approved for Pennsylvanians.

As of October 18th, a total of 29,660 people in the eight declared counties have applied to FEMA for information and assistance.

More than $21.9 million in federal disaster funds have been approved, including:

• A total of $17.5 million in Individual Assistance grants for housing assistance including:
  • More than $12.6 million for eligible home repairs.
  • More than $4.9 million in rental assistance.
• More than $4.3 million in grants for Other Needs Assistance to homeowners and renters to repair or replace certain household items, and include medical and dental expenses, and for disaster-related burials.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $13.9 million in low-interest disaster loans to repair and replace damaged property and contents.
• The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has paid policyholders more than $12.9 million for 1,796 claims filed to repair and rebuild flood-damaged property and contents. The $12.9 million includes advance payments to help homeowners get started quickly on repairs.
• Over 1,339 survivors have visited State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers. Mitigation specialists are available at recovery centers to help survivors with tips and techniques on building hazard-resistant homes.
• A total of 19,991 FEMA housing inspections (81.8 percent) have been completed.
• FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams have spoken with 2,172 survivors throughout the eight declared counties and have visited more than 5,330 homes during the program, which ended October 5, 2021.

Those impacted have until November 10th to register for FEMA federal disaster assistance.