FEMA: We’ll be here for at least 3 to 4 months

“We are in it for the long haul.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency federal coordinating officer Stephen DeBlasio Sr. said this was the directive given them by FEMA administrator William Craig Fugate.

DeBlasio said that FEMA will be on island for “at least” the next three to four months.

“We’re not going anywhere until we get completely into recovery mode and to a point where our services are not needed,” he said.

Though the deadline for households to register for FEMA assistance is on Oct. 5—60 days following the disaster—DeBlasio said public assistance will go on “until it’s done.”

DeBlasio, together with U.S. Small Business Administration public information officer William Koontz and Red Cross-NMI chapter executive director John Hirsh, briefed members of the Chamber of Commerce at their meeting at Saipan World Resort yesterday.

As of Sept. 1, DeBlasio said, registration for assistance has already reached 7,869 and over $10 million worth of assistance was approved.

DeBlasio also enumerated the efforts being done by both local and federal partners with regards to power and water supply as well as debris clearing.

He noted that FEMA generators have already been withdrawn from some water wells after the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. was able to restore power to wellheads, which is a good sign of recovery.

DeBlasio also mentioned that nine of the 14 drinking water companies on Saipan are operating and generating more than 75,000 gallons of water per day.

He also recognized the role of the private sector toward recovery following a disaster.

“The Chamber has been a great partner in sharing disaster assistance information with the Saipan private sector and the community at large. It’s through such public-private partnership that we are able to expedite the revitalization and the recovery of the local communities and the local economy,” DeBlasio said.

Koontz spoke to the business community about SBA’s programs for homeowners and businesses.

For individuals and families, homeowners may be able to get a loan of up to $200,000 to repair or replace real estate damage and up to $40,000 to replace personal property. Renters may be able to loan up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property.

For businesses, aside from loans of up to $2 million for property damage, some can also apply for a loan due to economic injury, Koontz said.

“Your business may not have been directly damaged by the typhoon but perhaps you can’t do business because you don’t have power, or you don’t have your inventory, you can’t get it. Whatever the reason might be, if you can’t make your monthly payments on your obligations, if you can’t pay your staff, if you can’t pay your mortgage, if you can’t pay any notes that the business owns, then you would’ve suffered what SBA calls economic injury and you are also eligible for apply for help for disaster loan,” Koontz said.

He noted that the term for the loan can be as long as 30 years.

Hirsh took the opportunity to thank the organizations and the business community for their continued help in Red Cross relief efforts and particularly IT&E’s help in setting up a call center for them to accommodate the 9,000 calls that they have received.

Hirsh said that disaster response is a community effort.

“We can’t do this alone. There’s no organization in this community that’s big enough that has the influence and the reach that’s necessary to provide for our community to recover,” Hirsh said.