Asheville Reporter

Town of Canton issued the following announcement on Sep 24. 

If you live in Buncombe, Haywood or Transylvania County and had personal property damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Fred, FEMA may provide financial assistance under the Other Needs Assistance provision of the Individuals and Households Program.

The assistance is intended to meet the basic needs of the household, not to restore all personal property items to a pre-disaster condition.

FEMA assistance to repair and replace personal property falls within the following categories:

 Appliances: Includes standard household appliances, such as a refrigerator, washing machine, etc. 

 Clothing: Essential clothing needed due to overall loss, damage, or contamination. 

 Room furnishings: Standard furnishings found in a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room. 

 Essential Tools: Tools and equipment required by an employer as a condition of employment and items required as a condition of an applicant’s or household member’s education.

 Accessible Items: FEMA also provides assistance for damaged personal property items required for qualified applicants with disabilities. 

Applicants must meet the following conditions to receive Personal Property Assistance: 

 The item needs to be repaired or replaced due to disaster damage. 

 The occupants of the household have an unmet disaster-related need for the damaged item. FEMA may not provide assistance if the applicant can meet that need with another similar item in their possession or available to the household. 

 The item was owned and being used by occupants of the household. 

o FEMA does not provide assistance for furnishings and/or appliances provided by a landlord.

o Items used by guests and relatives who were not members of the pre-disaster household are not eligible for assistance.

To apply for FEMA disaster assistance, go online to DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-3362, or use the FEMA app for smartphones. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time, seven days a week. The deadline for applications is Nov. 8, 2021.

For more information about Tropical Storm Fred recovery in North Carolina, visit fema.gov/disaster/4617 and ncdps.gov/TSFred. Follow us on Twitter: @NCEmergency and @FEMARegion4. 

Original source can be found here.