Grants for Flood Victims

Few grant programs exist for flood victims because the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 requires homeowners in the highest-risk flood areas with a federally backed mortgage to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. Replacing grant programs with mandatory insurance coverage and floodplain management requirements reduces flood damage by almost $1 billion a year, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA: Individuals & Households Program Grants

• FEMA's Individuals & Households Program offers two grant types for residents located in designated flood areas participating in the National Flood Insurance Program: one for housing needs, another broadly covering other needs. The grants for housing needs cover rent for temporary housing or a government-provided housing unit if no rental properties are available; funds for homeowners to repair flood damage to or replace their primary residence that insurance did not cover; and funds for home construction regardless of insurance coverage for residents of insular or remote locations as specified by FEMA. To qualify for a housing-needs grant, you must reside in presidentially declared disaster area; the damaged home must be your primary residence and where you lived at the time of the disaster; you must have filed for insurance benefits and the damages are not covered or the insurance settlement did not cover all losses; you or your co-habitant are a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national or a qualified alien; and you cannot currently live in your home, access it because of the flood, or the home requires repairs due to the flood.

  The grants for other than housing needs cover flood-related dental and medical costs and burial and funeral costs; clothes, furniture, appliances and tools required for work; educational materials such as schoolbooks, supplies and computers; primary heating fuel; flood-cleaning items including wet/dry vacuums and dehumidifiers; repair to flood-damaged vehicles; flood-related moving and storage expenses; any other FEMA-determined serious needs or expenses authorized by law. To qualify for funds for other than housing needs the following must apply: your losses are in a presidentially declared disaster area; you filed for insurance benefits and the damages are not covered or the insurance settlement did not cover all losses; you or your co-cohabitant are a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national or a qualified alien; and you have exhausted all other assistance sources, including insurance proceeds and Small Business Administration disaster loans, but you still have serious needs due to the flood.

FEMA: Disaster Unemployment Assistance

• If you became unemployed due to a flood, FEMA's Disaster Unemployment Assistance program will provide unemployment benefits beginning with the date your flood-related unemployment began. The benefits may last up to 26 weeks following presidential disaster declaration. You qualify for this program if you work in a job not served by other unemployment compensation programs--e.g., farmers, seasonal and migrant workers and the self-employed--or have not worked in your current position long enough to qualify for standard unemployment benefits. Even if you do not qualify for your state's unemployment program, you must still register with your state's employment services before you can receive DUA funds.

State Grants

• States sometimes receive funds from federal agencies, called flow-through funds, to administer grants or programs directly to the state's residents. FEMA provides states with grant funds to distribute to residents affected by disasters, including floods. For example, following the spring 2010 Mississippi tornadoes and flood, that state offered grants of up to $4,000 to affected residents for construction of single-family storm shelters or safe rooms through its "A Safe Place to Go Program," with funds originating from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.