East Texas Was Battered By A Series Of Severe Thunderstorms That Did Major Damage To Areas Of Tyler.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in East Texas as storm spring storm recovery continues and they are helping homes, churches and businesses with disaster claims.

Some disaster recovery centers that have opened up across East Texas which are locations where residents can go and get all the help needed to file for assistance.

What kind of help can FEMA provide?

FEMA may provide Serious Needs Assistance, Displacement Assistance, Home Repair Assistance, Rental Assistance, Personal Property Assistance, Transportation Assistance, Medical and Dental Assistance, and Funeral Assistance for eligible applicants.

 Disaster centers are open in Jasper, Polk, Tyler, Trinity, and Van Zandt counties.

Those centers will now be open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be closed on Sundays.

To qualify for FEMA assistance, you or a member of your household must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or qualified non-citizen. However, undocumented families with diverse immigration status only need one family member (including a minor child under 18) who is a United States citizen, non-citizen national or qualified non-citizen and has a Social Security number to apply.

To apply:

• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov
• Download the FEMA App for mobile devices
• Call the FEMA helpline at (800) 621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.

FEMA urges property owners and renters to save all receipts, photos, insurance claims and any other documentation related to the damage on the claims. After submitting the claim, individuals will receive a letter in the mail within 10 days to confirm their status or request more documentation.

If the letter says "Denied," please continue reading to see what steps you can take to continue your application. This may be as simple as submitting a photo of your driver's license or proof of property ownership.

The deadline to apply has been extended to August 15th.

After receiving the letter, an inspector will be scheduled to visit your property. Be sure to have a list of all damage you would like to report to expedite this process.

Claims can be appealed up to 30 days after the verdict. The City of Tyler is working with TDEM and FEMA to set up a Disaster Recovery Center to have a centralized location for all questions and assistance through this process.

For frequently asked questions and answers, visit Q&A: FEMA Individual Assistance | FEMA.gov. For more information, visit FEMA.gov.