N.C. Emergency Management has announced dates and locations for public assistance (PA) applicant briefings in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Municipalities located in the 41 counties in eastern and central parts of the state that plan to apply for federal and state reimbursement for Hurricane Matthew disaster response and recovery are highly encouraged to attend one of these briefings. The announcement states: "At the briefing, potential applicants (local governments, state agencies, private nonprofits) will be given an overview of the PA program/process, any event-specific details, and the 'Request for Public Assistance' (RPA) form, which is the application to participate in the PA program in order to receive reimbursement for eligible response and recovery costs incurred as a direct result of Hurricane Matthew." Click here to view the full announcement with locations and dates, background info and contacts. Click here for the RPA form, which applicants may complete ahead of the briefing and submit on site. Anyone unable to attend any of the briefings may send the completed form to wendy.estes@ncdps.gov. The deadline currently is Dec. 8.
The 41 counties included are Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Wake, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson.
N.C. Emergency Management has advised the League that any municipalities wanting to help local governments in eastern North Carolina with recovery efforts should contact their county emergency management directors and let them know what resources they are able to send. The county emergency management director can then upload the information to the State Emergency Operations Center so Emergency Management staff knows what resources are available. Then they can mobilize them to the areas of the state that need them.
Any impacted municipality that is not getting the resources it needs should contact the office of its county emergency management director to request assistance. If requests go unanswered, the municipality may contact Rob Shepherd, League Assistant Director of Business and Membership Development Services, at rshepherd@nlcm.org or (336) 456-7151.
For small businesses impacted by Hurricane Matthew, bridge loans of $1,000-$15,000 are available to help with recovery while federal loans, insurance payouts and other relief monies are awaiting approval. Click here for details and a list of counties where small businesses are eligible. The North Carolina Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program is a partnership of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, the N.C. Small Business and Technology Development Center and the N.C. Community Colleges Small Business Center Network. According to program information, loans will have 90- or 180-day terms and will be interest-free for the loan term; payments aren't required during the loan term but must be paid in full by the term's end, or interest will begin to accrue.
Meanwhile, please direct individual residents and businesses affected by the storm to www.disasterassistance.gov or (800) 621-3362 so they can file for FEMA relief.