HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Numerous Guam residents from the Freely Associated States who may be suffering from the devastation caused by Typhoon Mawar may be ineligible for recovery aid, federal officials told members of the 37th Guam Legislature.
Individual disaster grants provide up to $41,000 worth of aid to renters and homeowners, but citizens from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are not eligible, according to Robert Fenton Jr., the administrator for Region 9 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Though, if migrants have a child who is a U.S. citizen, they may apply under their child’s name.
“Unless they have someone born here in the United States that’s in their household, they’re not eligible for that program. So that’s going to be a gap of how do we help those individuals out, because they’re going to have losses,” Fenton said.
“I went through the northern part of the island already, I saw a lot of (damage) up there to their houses.”
As of 2018, Guam was home to an estimated 18,874 Compact of Free Association, or COFA, migrants, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Mayors have put the potential number of people left homeless by the storm in the hundreds, if not thousands, The Guam Daily Post has reported.
“We’ve been meeting with FEMA to clarify the issue surrounding COFA citizens. Unfortunately they are not able to provide individual assistance to COFA citizens,” Clynt Ridgell, Adelup deputy chief of staff, told the Post.
Many COFA households do have U.S. citizens residing in them, which may help alleviate the issue.
“Ultimately, we hope this issue will be resolved by changing the policy that prevents COFA citizens from being eligible for FEMA assistance,” Ridgell said.
He pointed to legislation introduced this year in Congress that would provide COFA citizens access to aid from FEMA, among a number of other federal programs.
On the local side, Ridgell said Sen. Amanda Shelton has introduced legislation to provide $500 to every taxpayer post-Mawar.
“Her bill gives $500 to people who may have lost some food in the fridge who drive Lexuses, and $500 dollars to those who have lost their homes completely,” he said. “I have recommended to her a more focused approach that would provide more funding to those who are more in need – both non-COFA and COFA alike.”
It’s unclear whether the cash-strapped government of Guam has the funding available to foot the estimated $40 million bill for every taxpayer.
Details on aid
FEMA’s Fenton provided more details about what can be covered under the individual disaster grant.
Usual payouts average between $5,000 and $10,000 and can help under-insured or uninsured people “replace their house (and) help them with things like medical bills if they sustained (injuries) from this event and funeral expenses. Things like, maybe … their tools for work. Maybe even something that they need in the house, like medical equipment,” Fenton said.
FEMA can also provide rental assistance, usually two months up front, for those who need to have their house repaired or replaced.
In Saipan, FEMA helped build about 170 concrete homes for people post-typhoon in 2018. Fenton said that program could be brought to Guam if needed.
There are multiple ways to apply for the individual assistance program: Residents can visit the disasterassistance.gov website, download the FEMA app, or call toll-free at 1-800-621-3362.
Robert Fenton Jr., administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 9, speaks at a press conference Monday, May 29, 2023, at Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense headquarters in Agana Heights.
