Bamberg County Emergency Services announces, on behalf of The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), that Bamberg County and its citizens have been given approval for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance to those who sustained losses, to apply for aid in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Fourteen other counties are also able to apply for Individual Assistance through FEMA. Those counties include: Allendale, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper, Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg.
Assistance can include money for temporary rental assistance and essential home repairs for primary homes, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help survivors recover from the effects of the disaster.
According to Brittany Barnwell, Bamberg County Emergency Services Director, Bamberg County is in the recovery stage. “We have long term and short term recovery to look forward too. Those recoveries include debris removal and correcting all damages that occurred as a result of Hurricane Matthew. The Bamberg County Damage Assessment team started assessing the county the day after Hurricane Matthew hit and they did an awesome job. They spent hours ensuring every home was viewed in the county to account for all damages.”
Financial assistance is not always granted by FEMA during times of emergency services. Counties must meet a threshold in order to qualify for the financial assistance given by FEMA. Joey R. Preston, Bamberg County Administrator explained, “the hard work of county staff and volunteers help to keep citizens safe and provide the information needed by FEMA to make this decision for community resources possible.” Without the information provided from the Damage Assessment Team and the Emergency Services team, this assistance would not be possible, which is why Barnwell says, “It is very important that our Bamberg County citizens, who are in need of it, to please register for FEMA assistance. FEMA representatives will either be going door to door to further assist the community or they will set up a Disaster Recovery Center. As of now if you have access to the internet, please take the time to register.”
Survivors can register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. Disaster assistance applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing should call 800-462-7585 (TTY); those who use Video Relay Service may call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate 7 AM to 10 PM, seven days a week until further notice.
Applying for assistance is important to help Bamberg County get back to where we were before Hurricane Matthew according to Bamberg County Councilwoman Sharon Hammond. Hammond, the previous Bamberg County Emergency Services Director stated, “The Individual and Public Assistance from FEMA is very important, if you have damages please document everything, take pictures and save all receipts to assist with your claims. Brittany, the Emergency Director, is doing everything possible to bring the right agencies to Bamberg County to help our citizens. We are so blessed that we did not have catastrophic damages or lose any lives, we are Bamberg Strong.”
As other county council members saw, Hurricane Matthew caused major damage throughout Bamberg County. Councilman Trent Kinard stated, “It is a blessing that we qualified for the FEMA assistance. I was out the day Hurricane Matthew passed through Bamberg and I saw the devastation it caused to many in our county.”
Kinard worked with County Employees after the storm and just in his district alone there were close to 30 homes with major tree or wind damage. Kinard said, “I saw mobile homes in our county completely destroyed by the trees that fell one them. I hugged grown men that were upset because they lost everything and didn't have insurance. I talked to families that lost all their food because of the power outages. I hope that our citizens will apply for this FEMA assistance as it will help those in need."
“We are so thankful to the Bamberg County Emergency Services Team and the Damage Assessment Team for helping us to receive FEMA Assistance. I speak for County Council when I say we urge our citizens to apply for this assistance. You may register for assistance by going to DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362,” stated Bamberg County Council Chairman Reverend Isaiah Odom.