Only One Week Left to Apply for FEMA and SBA Assistance

One week remains for New Mexico residents impacted by the South Fork and Salt Fires and flooding that occurred June 17 through Aug. 20 to apply to FEMA for federal disaster assistance for temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other disaster-related expenses. The deadline to apply is Saturday, Oct. 19. 

• To date FEMA has approved nearly $7 million Housing Assistance and Other Needs Assistance for homeowners and renters who suffered damage from the fires and flooding. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the agency's federal partner in disaster assistance, has approved more than $16 million in long-term, low-interest home and business loans. The deadline to apply for a disaster loan from the SBA is also Oct. 19. The deadline for businesses and private non-profits to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is March 20, 2025. 

If you live in Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba or San Juan County, as well as the Mescalero Apache Reservation, you may be eligible for FEMA disaster assistance. FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP or other federal and state benefits.  

The first step for individuals and households to receive assistance is to apply to FEMA for federal assistance. There are no costs involved to apply for, or receive, FEMA assistance. There are four ways to apply:

1. Go online to disasterassistance.gov/
2. Download the FEMA App for mobile devices at fema.gov/about/news-multimedia/mobile-products
3. Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. MT. Help is available in most languages.
4. Visit the New Mexico State Disaster Recovery Center/FEMA at the Horton Complex, 237 Service Road in Ruidoso. Hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday noon to 4:00 p.m.

For an American Sign Language (ASL) video on how to apply for assistance, visit youtube.com/watch= WZGpWI2RCNw.

The deadline to apply for both FEMA assistance and for an SBA loan is Oct. 19, 2024. 

For more information about FEMA’s Individual Assistance program, visit  www.fema.gov/assistance/individual. 

SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters fund to repairs or rebuilding efforts and to cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. Applicants may apply at https://lending.sba.gov. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 7-1-1.