Saluda County residents find help at hurricane disaster center
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- Fact vs. fiction: A look at the false information around Hurricane Helene
- More help: New FEMA centers open for Helene victims across CSRA
- FEMA aid: Local renters can apply for assistance after Hurricane Helene
- Applying for aid: Assistance won’t affect other benefits, agency says
SALUDA, S.C. (WIS) - As thousands continue to rebuild from Hurricane Helene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues offering a helping hand to those greatly impacted through pop-up resource centers in areas that need help the most.
A disaster recovery center in Saluda County is open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. through Oct. 19. The center is aimed at helping people in Saluda County continue to recover from the storm.
I-TEAM: Some say FEMA aid isn’t coming fast enough
More than two weeks after Hurricane Helene, some people are still waiting for FEMA to approve their applications.
“A lot of people down here are solid working-class people and they don’t have the resources, and FEMA’s probably all they got left to help them get over this disaster,” said Saluda County resident Dan Neel. “None of us were prepared for this at all – nobody.”
This is one reality Saluda County resident Dan Neel said his community still faces, cleaning up from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Renters in CSRA can apply for FEMA aid after Hurricane Helene
FEMA assistance is available to renters, including students, with uninsured losses from Hurricane Helene in several local counties.
The pop-up disaster centers have accelerated the recovery process for many people across South Carolina. FEMA Spokesperson Tiana Suber said having these centers have helped contribute to more than 300,000 people state-wide ing with FEMA assistance, and given out more than $140 million in grants to people who have needed assistance.
She said the pop-up centers speed up the process of helping others because professionals are there to help guide a victim through their options.
“It’s much easier, it lightens up the load of you trying to figure it out yourself, especially doing it online,” said FEMA Spokeswoman Tiana Suber.
“We have the experts here and we’re always encouraging people to come here and talk to somebody one-on-one,” she said.
FEMA application denied? Here are the most common reasons
As communities clean up damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, officials are explaining why some residents may be told they are ineligible for disaster assistance.
The Recovery Center allows people to meet with disaster specialists and various agencies who can walk people through how to apply for and get the right .
Mike Leonard, a Disaster Recovery Reserve Corp Member with South Carolina Office of Resilience, was one person at the recovery center Thursday.
He was helping people navigate how to get for home damages and directing them to other services that can help with food and debris removal.
“If they actually have home damages, we them with an application to help get the grant,” Leonard said, “Our other role is to help refer them to services within the area. The main services that are under request right now are for food and for tree and debris removal.”
The Disaster Recovery Center at 407 West Butler Avenue in Saluda, SC will be open until 7 p.m. on October 19th, 2024.
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