Category: Financial Aid

Preliminary Damage Assessments Help States with Federal Aid

March 23rd, 2012

FEMA just released a very interesting post on their blog about how Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) are made after a disaster.  This is the process that occurs before a Major Disaster Declaration is made.  Although PDA teams do not determine whether a major disaster declaration will be issued, the information they collect is provided to the state for a governor to determine if he or she will request federal assistance.

It’s important to know that even if you report your personal damage to the Red Cross or state officials, you must still apply with FEMA directly to be considered for federal assistance.  Check out their blog for more details.  We agree with FEMA, that “every bit of knowledge we have about the process arms us all in a way to make the recovery just maybe a small bit easier.”

Also, check out The Red Guide to Recovery pages on Disaster Recovery Financial Issues and Insurance Claim Resources for more resources to help with the financial aspects of disaster recovery.