Mercer County left out as FEMA approves disaster declaration for six N.J. counties, including Somerset, Hunterdon, and Middlesex

lambertville volunteers Ida
Volunteers in the City of Lambertville work together on Sept. 6. Photo credit: Jane, a volunteer.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Sunday announced that FEMA has approved a major disaster declaration for six counties in New Jersey, allowing residents and businesses in those counties to register for direct assistance to help them recover from the damage caused by Tropical Storm Ida.

Direct assistance support includes home repairs, temporary housing, low-cost loans, and other programs to help people recover from the effects of the tropical storm.

The counties included in the disaster declaration are Bergen, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, and Somerset. Residents and business owners in those counties who suffered damage to homes and businesses in the storm can register for individual direct assistance at www.disasterassistance.gov.

Mercer County, where some residents of Princeton, Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, Pennington, and Ewing experienced extensive damage to businesses and homes that made some houses uninhabitable, did not make the list. Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, including Mercer County, and additional counties may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed. 

The state has launched a data collection portal at www.nj.gov/ida for residents in Mercer County and other counties where FEMA is still evaluating whether to provide financial assistance. Murphy said the state will continue to evaluate damage in the other counties, and that data collected from the state portal will ensure that damage across all the other counties is evaluated for potential FEMA assistance. The state portal will record basic information including your name, location, damages, and estimated repair costs.

“Many residents of our state are facing a long road ahead as they recover from Ida,” Murphy said on a Sunday visit to Lambertville, where flash floods damaged many homes and businesses. “I am very grateful to the Biden Administration and FEMA for their swift approval of the major disaster declaration for six of our counties. I urge residents and business owners in those counties to visit FEMA’s website and begin the application process.”

Murphy also urged residents outside of the six counties to register their information on the state website.
 
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the six designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at https://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.

2 Comments

  1. Hey governor what about the 600 displaced people in Elizabeth nj. Union county. They all lost there homes and everything they owned. Even people over there lost life also. I guess the uban areas dont count for help. So sad how all the rich town received help for their business. But the hell with that. People have nothing in union county..the kids have nothing. New Jersey has failed the people again. How sad..

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