What Types of Federal Disaster Relief Benefits Are Available?

• Author: Chris Remington
• Posted: 2024-08-25

While there are a few important differences between the federal disaster relief programs offered by the government and their state counterparts, they are all designed to help a variety of people recover from a natural disaster. The five major programs offer different types of aid to different groups, and some may qualify for more than one type of help. These programs also vary in the amount of aid given to individual victims, which is problematic since higher-income individuals face a higher tax burden. In addition, federal disaster relief should differ in accordance with the severity of each individual's loss and the severity of the disaster.

The federal government allows caseworkers to check income during a disaster, and Connecticut is no exception. However, many state caseworkers are not trained to ask for verification. The report found that Connecticut disaster relief programs failed to verify the income of applicants, resulting in a higher number of approved claims. As a result, many applications for disaster relief benefits were not approved despite having a caseworker sign them, and several others were not correctly calculated to determine eligibility.

Another major program to provide disaster relief assistance for people out of work due to tornadoes is federal disaster unemployment assistance. This program is part of a series of programs available to affected residents after the federal disaster declaration. In the city of Moore, for example, two EF4 tornadoes destroyed or damaged more than 2,400 homes, left thousands without power, and closed several miles of highways until debris removal. However, there are still many questions about what types of federal disaster relief benefits are available.