Two Weeks Left for Vermonters to Apply for Federal Assistance

Vermonters affected by July’s severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides have two weeks to apply for federal disaster assistance, which may include FEMA grants to repair homes and replace property or low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The application deadline is November 25, 2024.

For the storms that took place July 9-11, residents in the designated counties of Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans and Washington are eligible to apply. For the July 29-31 storms, those in the designated counties of Caledonia, Essex and Orleans can apply. 

Vermonters affected by both July storms must submit separate applications for each event. 

Survivors who had loss or damage should apply with FEMA even if they don’t have repair estimates or insurance settlements yet. To be considered, people in the affected areas need to register with FEMA to begin the process. FEMA will work with survivors to identify what information is needed to determine eligibility.

For those who would like to speak to a disaster recovery specialist face-to-face, two Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Vermont. These centers are located at the Hinesburg Town Hall (10632 Route 116) and the Lyndon Public Safety Facility at 366 Main Street. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Saturday. Closed Sundays.

Residents don’t need to visit a DRC to apply to FEMA. Here are three ways to apply: 

Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. 

Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. Phone lines operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (in your time zone), seven days a week. Help is available in most languages. If you use video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service. For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance go to, youtube.com/watch?v= WZGpWI2RCNw..

Download FEMA’s Mobile App

To Apply to SBA:

• Apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at sba.gov/disaster
• Call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information. 
• For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

On October 15, 2024, it was announced that funds for the SBA Disaster Loan Program have been fully expended. While no new SBA Disaster loans can be issued until Congress appropriates additional funding, SBA remains committed to supporting disaster survivors. Applications will continue to be accepted and processed to ensure individuals and businesses are prepared to receive assistance once funding becomes available.