College students who lost personal property due to Tropical Storm Allison may be eligible for slate or federal disaster assistance. Disaster assistance may be available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration or from the State of Texas, Division of Emergency Management.
We want to make sure that returning college students know that they can register for assistance due to flood damage to their personal property. said Duke Mazurek, state-coordinating officer for the recovery effort.
Determination of benefits will depend on the circumstances in each individual case.
Rental assistance may be available to students who need to relocate due to flooding. If a student, however, has been provided housing by insurance or from the university, FEMA will not duplicate that assistance.
If private property, including an automobile, is in the possession of a student, but in fact are owned by the parent, to receive assistance the owner of the damaged property must be the one to register with FEMA. The national toll-free number is 1-800-462-9029 (For persons with speech or hearing impediment, the TTY number is 1-800-462-7585).
The deadline to apply is September 7. Normal registration hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
