Types of FEMA Assistance Available for Disaster Survivors

TL;DR: FEMA Individual Assistance pays for uninsured basic recovery needs — temporary housing, home repair or replacement, and other serious expenses — only after a presidential declaration names your county.

What a disaster declaration unlocks

A major presidential disaster declaration was approved after Arkansas was hit by back-to-back severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in March and April, according to Types of Disaster Assistance Available | FEMA.gov. That declaration authorizes FEMA to provide various types of assistance to benefit individuals and households.

FEMA’s Individual Assistance program directly helps disaster survivors with uninsured or underinsured basic critical needs such as returning a home to a safe, sanitary, functional and accessible environment during recovery, according to that FEMA fact sheet. FEMA cannot provide financial assistance when any other source — insurance or financial assistance from voluntary agencies — has provided assistance for the same disaster-related need.

A separate declaration was approved after the severe storms and flooding that occurred March 26-28, 2025, in Texas, according to Types of Disaster Assistance Available | FEMA.gov. It authorizes FEMA to provide assistance in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties. Disaster assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help residents and business owners recover from the impacts of the disaster.

Through the Individuals and Households Program, FEMA may provide assistance for eligible expenses and losses that are not covered by insurance or any other source, according to FAQ: What assistance does FEMA provide? | FEMA.gov. The list includes the different types of assistance FEMA is authorized to offer through the state-requested disaster declaration process. The type of assistance available is dependent on the request from the state.

The Individuals and Households Program | FEMA.gov page states that Individuals and Households Program assistance provides financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by a disaster, who have uninsured or under-insured necessary expenses and serious needs. That program page states that assistance is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster. The assistance is intended to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts.

FEMA states it is committed to providing equal access to disaster recovery resources and assistance, according to that program page. Survivors are asked to let FEMA know if anyone in the household has a disability or language need.

Housing help for a damaged primary home

Under Individual Assistance, FEMA provides several types of financial and direct assistance to eligible individuals and families, which may include Housing Assistance and Other Needs Assistance, according to the Arkansas fact sheet.

Rental Assistance helps rent alternate housing while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence. Rental Assistance and Continued Temporary Housing Assistance may be used to rent a house, apartment, manufactured home, recreational vehicle, or efficiency unit at a hotel or motel while a damaged residence is being repaired.

Lodging Expense Reimbursement covers hotels, motels or other short-term lodging while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence. Rental Assistance is described as money to rent alternate housing accommodations if displaced from home because of the disaster, according to the FEMA FAQ page. Lodging Expense Reimbursement is described there as money to reimburse for hotels, motels, or other short-term lodging if temporarily displaced by the disaster.

Home Repair Assistance helps restore an owner-occupied, disaster-damaged primary residence to safe and sanitary condition. Replacement Assistance helps homeowners replace an owner-occupied primary residence when it is destroyed by a disaster.

The FAQ page describes Home Repair/Replacement Assistance as money for a homeowner who lived in the home at the time of the disaster to repair a disaster-damaged primary residence, utilities, and residential infrastructure, or to help replace a primary residence when the residence is destroyed. If affected by a disaster declared on or after March 22, 2024, the money can also help with fixing areas of the home damaged by the disaster even if there was a pre-existing condition in that part of the home.

The program page adds that assistance may include funds for temporary housing while unable to live at home, such as rental assistance or reimbursement for hotel costs. It may include funds to support the repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes that serve as the household’s primary residence, including privately-owned access routes, such as driveways, roads, or bridges. It may include a temporary housing unit, if approved for the disaster, when rental assistance cannot be used due to a lack of available housing resources. It may also include funds for hazard mitigation assistance to help eligible homeowners repair or rebuild stronger, more durable homes.

Immediate housing and serious needs payments

Other Needs Assistance includes Displacement assistance, which helps with housing needs if return to home is not possible because of the disaster, according to the Arkansas fact sheet. For disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, Displacement Assistance is money to help with immediate housing needs if return is not possible, according to the FAQ page. The money can be used to stay in a hotel, with family and friends, or other options while looking for a rental unit.

Serious Needs Assistance is an upfront, flexible “per household” payment for essential items such as food, water, baby formula, breast-feeding supplies, medicine and other serious disaster-related needs. That payment is not a reimbursement for loss of power or replacing food. It is intended for emergency needs only.

The FAQ page states that Serious Needs Assistance, for disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, is money to help pay for immediate needs such as water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding equipment, diapers, personal hygiene items, and fuels for transportation. That page states that Serious Needs Assistance is available in all disasters, but eligibility requirements must be met. For disasters declared before March 22, 2024, Critical Needs Assistance is money to help pay for immediate needs such as water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding equipment, diapers, personal hygiene items, and fuels for transportation. That page notes Critical Needs Assistance is not available in all disasters.

Direct Temporary Housing Assistance is direct assistance that FEMA may deliver through providing Temporary Housing Units, Multi-Family Lease and Repair, or Direct Lease, according to the FAQ page. Clean and Sanitize Assistance is money to help pay for very minor damage caused by the disaster to prevent additional loss and potential health or safety concerns. That money is only available in certain disasters if there was property damage but the applicant was not eligible for Home Repair or Replacement Assistance because FEMA determined the home could still be lived in safely.

Property, vehicle, medical and family costs

Personal Property assistance helps repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged in the disaster. The FAQ page expands that definition to money to help repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a computer damaged by the disaster. That can also include money for books, uniforms, tools, additional computers and other items required for school or work, including self-employment.

Transportation assistance helps repair or replace a vehicle damaged by the disaster when no other vehicle is available to use. The FAQ page states that Transportation Assistance is money for a vehicle damaged by the disaster when there is no other vehicle that can be used. Unlike most other forms of Individuals and Households Program assistance, an applicant does not need to live in the Presidentially declared disaster area to be considered for this assistance.

Medical/Dental assistance helps cover expenses related to disaster-caused injuries or illnesses. The FAQ page describes Medical and Dental Assistance as money to help pay for expenses because the disaster caused an injury or illness. This money can also be used to help replace medical/dental equipment, breastfeeding equipment, damaged or lost prescribed medicine, or loss/injury of a service animal.

Childcare assistance covers childcare expenses or an increase in childcare expenses caused by a disaster. The FAQ page describes Child Care Assistance as money for new or increased disaster-caused child care expenses. Funeral Assistance is money to help pay for funeral or reburial expenses caused by the disaster.

Extra recovery, accessibility and flood insurance

Miscellaneous Items assistance may help pay for specific items that were purchased or rented after the disaster to help recovery. The Arkansas fact sheet gives the example of a chainsaw to help clear fallen trees that prevent safe access to home. The FAQ page describes Assistance for Miscellaneous Items as money for certain eligible items such as a generator, dehumidifier, chainsaw and similar items purchased or rented after the disaster to assist with recovery.

Moving and Storage assistance covers moving and storing personal property from home to prevent additional damage, usually while making repairs to home or moving to a new place due to the disaster. The FAQ page describes Moving and Storage Expenses in the same way.

Accessibility Needs assistance is money to help survivors with a disability with specific repairs that make a home accessible such as exterior ramp, grab bars, and paved path to the home entrance, according to the FAQ page. Repairs can be made when these items are damaged. Improvements can be made when those features were not present prior to the disaster and are needed due to a pre-existing disability or a disability caused by the disaster.

Money is also available for survivors whose only access to home has been damaged by the disaster for privately-owned roads, bridges and docks. If a home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area and has flood damage caused by the disaster, FEMA may purchase a Group Flood Insurance Policy on behalf of the survivor that gives three years of coverage.

The program page states that assistance may include funds for other uninsured or under-insured disaster-caused expenses and serious needs. Applicants who wish to authorize FEMA to share disaster assistance records with a third party must complete FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-118: Authorization for the Release of Information Under the Privacy Act and return it to FEMA, because the Privacy Act requires written consent to share records. Applicants seeking Continued Temporary Housing Assistance may request additional assistance by completing FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-115: Application for Continued Temporary Housing Assistance and returning it with supporting documentation.

Where and how households applied in Arkansas and Texas

Survivors in Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp and Stone counties may apply for federal assistance if they had damage in the March 14-15 storms, according to the Arkansas fact sheet. Those affected by the April 2-22 storms, tornadoes and flooding in Clark, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Desha, Fulton, Hot Spring, Jackson, Miller, Ouachita, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Sharp, St. Francis and White counties may also apply.

If affected by both disasters, applicants are encouraged to file a separate FEMA application for each. The deadline for the March storms is Monday, July 14. The last day to apply for the April storms is Monday, July 21.

FEMA also funds the Disaster Unemployment Assistance managed by the state of Arkansas, which began accepting applications from individuals whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a result of the April storms. Individuals must file unemployment claims by Monday, July 21, at https://ezarc.adws.arkansas.gov/ or at an Arkansas Workforce Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

There are several ways to apply. Applicants may go to DisasterAssistance.gov; download the FEMA App for mobile devices; or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. CT. Help is available in most languages. If using a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, applicants can give FEMA the number for that service.

In Texas, survivors in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties may apply for federal assistance if they had damage in the March 26-28 storms, according to the Texas release. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2025. Applicants may visit a Disaster Recovery Center, go to DisasterAssistance.gov, download the FEMA App, or call the Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. CT. To find a center, applicants may go online to the DRC Locator, or text DRC along with Zip Code to 43362.

That Texas release reported $34.2 million in FEMA awards to 6,541 individuals and households, including nearly $58,000 for rental of temporary housing and basic repair of damaged dwellings. It reported $2.4 million in U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans. To meet survivors where they are, FEMA, SBA and the State of Texas were operating seven Disaster Recovery Centers in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties. More than 3,400 people had visited these centers.

For the latest information about Arkansas’ recovery, survivors may visit fema.gov/disaster/4865 or fema.gov/disaster/4873. For more information about Texas recovery, survivors may visit fema.gov/disaster/4871. More detail about the Individuals and Households Program is available at fema.gov/assistance/individual.