The deadline for North Carolina victims of Hurricane Florence to apply for disaster assistance is Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency extended the deadline at the request of Gov. Roy Cooper.

“We want to make sure that our hurricane survivors get the help they need to get their lives back on track,” said the governor. “I urge anyone impacted by Hurricane Florence to register with FEMA right away.”

Disaster assistance for individuals may include grants to help homeowners and renters with temporary housing, necessary home repairs, replacement of personal property and other serious disaster-related needs. Disaster-assistance grants are not taxable income and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state programs. Grants do not have to be repaid to the federal government.

As of Friday, $809.6 million in federal and state resources had been committed to Florence storm victims, according to FEMA. That amount includes $112.5 million approved in individual housing program grants for homeowners and renters, $279.2 million in low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration and $417.9 million paid to National Flood Insurance Program policy holders.

As of Friday, $117,417,692.81 had been approved for individual assistance statewide, including $97,224,616.35 for housing assistance and $20,193,076.46 for other-needs assistance. There were 32,892 applications for individual assistance approved.

“FEMA understands that some people may have waited, and certainly this past week’s winter storms may have impacted their ability to register,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Albia Lewis, who is in charge of FEMA’s operations in North Carolina. “We urge anyone who has damage or losses from Florence to register now before it’s too late.”

Here’s how to apply for assistance the Wednesday deadline:

• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or DisasterAssistance.gov/as (for Spanish)
• Call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY) anytime from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.
• In-person American Sign Language interpreters are available by calling or texting 202-655-8824. Go online to watch a video on how to request an American Sign Language interpreter.
  For more information on North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Florence, visit ncdps.gov/Florence and FEMA.gov/Disaster/4393. Follow us on Twitter:
  @NC Emergency and @FEMARegion4.