Recently, New York State has become much more familiar with natural disasters. We have seen floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and storms that have caused widespread damage and interrupted many people’s lives. People just don’t know where to turn – who to go to for help.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, offers assistance in a variety of ways. We have included some of their information for you. For more detailed information, go to the FEMA website (www.fema.gov/assistance/process/additional.shtm and click on “Recover & Rebuild”.)

The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program provides unemployment benefits and re-employment services to individuals who have become unemployed because of major disasters. Benefits begin with the date the individual was unemployed due to the disaster incident and can extend up to 26 weeks after the Presidential declaration date. These benefits are made available to individuals not covered by other unemployment compensation programs, such as self-employed, farmers, migrant and seasonal workers, and those who have insufficient quarters to qualify for other unemployment compensation.

When the President declares a disaster, FEMA/EPR , through an agreement with the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, provides free legal assistance to disaster victims. Legal advice is limited to cases that will not produce a fee (i.e. these attorneys work without payment). Assistance would typically include assistance with insurance claims, landlord/tenant problems, consumer protection matters and replacement of legal documents.

Taxpayers who have sustained a casualty loss from a declared disaster may deduct that loss on the federal income tax return for the year in which the casualty actually occurred, or elect to deduct the loss on the tax return for the preceding tax year.

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