HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The road to recovery following Typhoon Mawar has been aided by nearly $112 million in federal aid to Guam disaster survivors.
Federal assistance has funneled into Guam to help businesses and residents through either low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration or direct disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The SBA provided the bulk of the assistance. It approved more than $62.2 million in low-interest disaster recovery loans to businesses of all sizes, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters.
“For homeowners and renters, the SBA has approved 651 disaster loans totaling nearly $59.2 million. These loans can be used to repair or replace a survivor’s disaster-damaged home and personal property,” a Joint Information Center news release stated Saturday. “Additionally, 45 businesses and private nonprofits have been approved for loans totaling more than $3 million. These funds will help these businesses and organizations recover by replacing real estate, machinery and equipment, and inventory and business assets.”
FEMA provided assistance to more than 16,000 homeowners and renters who were approved for federal awards, totaling more than $49.7 million under FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.
According to the release, more than $11 million went to help disaster survivors rebuild or make basic repairs to their homes, while $14.5 million has been provided to more than 4,700 renters in need of a place to stay while they repaired or rebuilt their damaged homes.
The federal government also provided money to help survivors account for losses that were not covered by insurance or any other source.
“More than $24.3 million in other-needs assistance has been awarded to Guam survivors. This includes critical needs assistance, transportation assistance, personal property assistance, moving and storage, disaster-related medical and dental assistance, and money to clean and sanitize a disaster-damaged home,” the release stated.
Grace McCraney, FEMA applicant service program specialist, helps a client apply for assistance at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center June 18 at the GCC Campus in Mangilao.
