Hurricane Katrina: Legal Issues - Columbus School of Law

esources of state and local governments and voluntary relief organizations. FEMA is the federal agency, a part of
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, that is responsible for coordinating federal disaster relief and assistance.
At FEMA's local assistance and disaster recovery centers, you can talk directly to representatives of state and
volunteer agencies and get help with insurance questions.
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What types of disaster assistance does FEMA administer and coordinate?
There are several different types of assistance including various forms of housing assistance:
Temporary housing assistance
lodging expense reimbursement – eligible applicants may receive a check for the
cost of short-term lodging, such as hotel rooms, incurred due to damage or inaccessibility to a residence or an official
prohibition on returning to a residence.
minimal repairs assistance – eligible applicants can receive financial assistance
to help make immediate emergency repairs to live in their residence while permanent repairs are being completed.
rental assistance – an eligible applicant can receive financial assistance (based
on fair market rental value in the disaster area) to rent a dwelling for the pre- disaster household to live for a limited
time. Rental assistance is available up to 18 months based on need, which is reviewed and evaluated quarterly.
Manufactured housing – FEMA may provide in-kind assistance in the form of mobile homes, a manufactured home
or other readily fabricated dwelling. Due to the enormity of the housing crisis created by Hurricane Katrina, FEMA
has leased several cruise ships to provide temporary housing.
Mortgage and rental assistance (MRA) – MRA provides means to allow people affected by a major disaster to
remain in their homes.
Individual and Family Grant (IFG) Program – The IFG program is administered by states to cover necessary
expenses and serious needs that cannot be met through other forms of disaster assistance. This assistance may cover
repairing/rebuilding real or personal property, transportation, medical, dental and funeral expenses incurred by
disaster victims. The maximum amount of the grant is adjusted each fiscal year and is currently $26,200.00
Note: On September 7, 2005, FEMA announced that it was distributing special grants of up to $2,000 to Hurricane
victims in Louisiana and Mississippi to cover immediate needs for food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities.
FEMA also announced that because many Hurricane Katrina evacuees had lost all their possessions they were
relaxing standard documentation requirements for these grants.
Housing Repair – Eligible applicants may receive grants to repair damage from the disaster that is not covered by
insurance.
Housing Replacement – In unusual situations where no other housing is available, homeowners and renters may
receive assistance for construction of a new home.
Other Needs Assistance (ONA) – Eligible applicants may receive grants for necessary and serious needs such as
medical, dental, funeral, personal property, moving and storage, and other expenses FEMA approves.
Cora Brown Fund – This fund is used for disaster victims who have exhausted all other avenues of assistance but