Experienced a Disaster? Check Out These Benefits You May Be Entitled To

• Author: Mary Singleton
• Posted: 2024-10-01

If you live in a jurisdiction that has experienced a natural disaster, then you know how tough it can be to rebuild from what feels like, sometimes literally is, a pile of rubble.

However, the federal government has a few hefty benefits for which you could be qualified. We'll look at what will qualify you for disaster relief benefits, what benefits for which you could be qualified, and more.

How Are Disasters Legally Determined?

In order to be a "worthy" disaster, the President of the United States must declare it as such. For example, when there is a large flood that causes significant structure damage in a particular locality, there is sometimes a presidential disaster declaration. Likewise, where there is a hurricane or a tornado that wreaks havoc, usually the President will declare a disaster.

While it's technically up to the discretion of the president, organizations' input is usually welcomed in the process. For example, if FEMA is called in to assess a situation, there is almost a guarantee of there being a disaster declared.

One very large and novel disaster declaration is the one that has been put out for the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the United States understood the scope of this pandemic, a presidential declaration of disaster was put out across the whole country. This was following suit with the rest of the developed world.

Presidential Disaster Declaration and Unemployment

When there's a disaster that strikes, many people immediately begin repairing what was broken. They often are displaced from jobs because they're now searching and scouring for a new place to live. Quite often, they have to spend significant amounts of money to repair their dwellings, automobiles, and other belongings.

This is where Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) comes in. DUA is created for federally declared disaster victims to be able to at least get monetary justice for what has happened to them and their jobs. For the COVID pandemic, DUA was tapped in the form of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA was essentially a copy of DUA that utilized the same trust funds as DUA to pay those who were out of work due to the havoc that COVID-19 wreaked on them.

Unfortunately, for those looking for PUA benefits, the period to collect them has ended per the federal government's expiration of the benefits in September of 2021.

However, for those looking for other disaster relief benefits, DUA is a great option. It is a federal supplement to what people can get from their states, if applicable. DUA can also be standalone payments if for one reason or another someone is not eligible for state unemployment.

What Is the Difference Between DUA and PUA?

PUA was created for COVID-19 as a spinoff of DUA. You may have heard from certain news sources that those receiving "unemployment" for the COVID pandemic sometimes actually received more money than they had earned. This was because PUA had a supplement at a flat rate for its duration. DUA, on the other hand, works more like traditional unemployment insurance.

With DUA disaster relief benefits, those who qualify receive a supplement to their income that typically is close to what they earned, with certain, subjective limits in place for each applicant.

What Indirect Aid Could I Qualify For?

FEMA has a disaster relief fund that is utilized during presidentially declared disasters. This fund isn't to be redistributed to individuals like PUA and DUA are. These funds are used in furtherance of the health and safety of those affected by a disaster. They can provide non-monetary forms of disaster relief to people and even can supply food and water to those affected while everyone waits on insurance claims and infrastructure fixes.

In the meantime, you can also check out a few programs that can help you out. If you need a spare cell phone, consider applying for the federal LifeLine program. This supplies you with a cell phone, an unlimited cell plan under the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and more. You must qualify, but victims of certain natural disasters usually do qualify.

There are other federal benefits that you could apply for, like Section 8 housing. However, you will likely be better off during the disaster if you're able to hold onto the belongings you can and keep your same housing; many other federal programs have long wait lists for those applying.