FAIRMONT – Those who suffered damage from this summer’s flooding still have time to claim relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The program seeks to start recovery for those affected by providing grants for basic needs, including life-sustaining items, home repairs and housing replacement. FEMA Specialist Amber Schindeldecker said the deadline was extended to Oct. 27 for Martin County because it was added later.

“A number of counties were not included in the initial 19 counties [aided by FEMA]. Emergency managers worked with people in Martin County and determined there was a number of households that incurred damages and needed help. To provide time for these people to get assistance, the extension was made.”

Schindeldecker said there is some pre-requisite information people will need to bring to help fill out the application.

“Information such as contact, address during the disaster, and address now,” she said. “They’re going to want to know social security number and any pictures or other accounting of what items were damaged and lost. The application will ask for banking information if they want grant money to be deposited.”

Insurance details should be taken into account before going to FEMA.

“If people are insured, they’re going to want to make a claim with their insurance. FEMA can’t help with things covered by someone’s home or flood insurance. If something isn’t covered by that insurance, FEMA could still help.”

So far, 65 applications have been made in Martin County for damages related to this summer’s flooding.

Currently, there is a Disaster Recovery Center at 107 North Lafayette Avenue in Fulda, which is the only one remaining. To ensure as many people are assisted as possible, temporary centers have been scheduled.

Through today, this is located at 122 East Main Street in Ceylon from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center will then be moved to 145 West Wenberg Street in Dunnell for the same hours into the foreseeable future.

If it is believed any type of support could be received from FEMA, Schindeldecker said to apply as soon as possible.

“The longer you wait, the longer the wait takes to get support,” she said. “If somebody receives a letter saying they’ve been rejected, read the letter carefully because you may just need to attach more information. You could still potentially get support from FEMA even if you initially get rejected.”

Applications can also be done online at disasterassistance.gov, the FEMA app, or by calling 1-800-621-3362.