After a Disaster: The First 72 Hours of Recovery Help

Quick recovery contacts

Your first 72 hours at a glance

Use the timeline this way:

• Protect people first. Account for household members. Take medicine, mobility equipment, chargers, identification, and essential pet supplies if it is safe. Ask for accessible transportation, power for medical equipment, refrigeration for medicine, and service-animal support.
• Preserve proof next. After officials allow reentry, photograph the building, rooms, water or smoke lines, damaged systems, and belongings. Call insurance. Report damage through any local survey, but remember that a local report is not an insurance claim or FEMA application.
• Open assistance paths. Check whether the federal declaration includes Individual Assistance. Apply before the posted deadline and keep working with insurance.
• Prevent more loss. Make safe temporary repairs such as tarping or boarding openings. Keep receipts and before-and-after photos. Delay permanent contracts until you understand inspection, permit, and documentation rules.

Return and clean up safely

The CDC return-home guide says to contact insurance and take pictures before cleanup. For a health hazard, photograph it if safe and follow local disposal orders.

• Structure: Stay out if walls lean, ceilings sag, the foundation shifted, the roof is unstable, or officials marked the building unsafe.
• Gas: Leave immediately if you smell gas or hear hissing. Do not create a spark or switch electrical equipment on or off. Call the utility or 911 from a safe place.
• Electricity: Do not touch a breaker panel while standing in water or use wet appliances. Call the utility or an electrician.
• Carbon monoxide: Keep portable generators, pressure washers, grills, and other fuel-burning equipment outdoors at least 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents. Use a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm.
• Floodwater and sewage: Wear waterproof boots, gloves, and eye protection. Cover cuts. Wash exposed skin. Keep children and pets away from contaminated water and mud.
• Mold: For cleanup, wear at least an N95 respirator, goggles, and protective gloves. People with asthma, chronic lung disease, or weak immune systems should avoid moldy buildings and cleanup work.
• Food and water: Follow local boil-water or do-not-use notices. Throw away food touched by floodwater and food that was not kept safely cold during a power outage.

Find shelter, food, medicine, and charging

Red Cross emergency shelters are a free service. The organization states that no identification is required to enter a Red Cross shelter. Services may include a safe place to stay, meals, water, basic health support, help replacing lost prescriptions or eyeglasses, charging, emotional support, and referrals. Available services vary by site. Service animals are welcome; ask local officials about sheltering for household pets.

Call 211 for the most current local list of shelters, cooling or warming centers, food distribution, transportation, hygiene supplies, cleanup help, and public charging. In some areas, 211 also offers text, chat, or online search. It is a referral service, not a grant program.

For emotional distress after a disaster, call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. It is a free, confidential, 24-hour counseling and support service. Call 911 or 988 for an immediate safety or suicide crisis.

If medicine, oxygen, dialysis, refrigerated drugs, or medical equipment is at risk, call the clinician, pharmacy, health plan, supplier, or local health office. Ask the shelter or Red Cross health team for help. Federal prescription assistance is activated only for some disasters and areas.

Document damage before throwing things away

Good records support insurance, FEMA, SBA, tax, legal, and charitable applications. They also help you challenge an estimate that misses damage.

• Take a slow video of the property and narrate what you see.
• Photograph the street address, all sides of the building, roof damage visible from the ground, every room, utilities, appliances, and personal property.
• Show the flood or smoke line and include a ruler or tape measure when safe.
• Write each damaged item, brand, model, approximate age, and estimated purchase price.
• Save repair estimates, hotel bills, fuel receipts, meals, tarps, generators, dehumidifiers, cleaning supplies, storage, transportation, and medical costs.
• Keep a call log with the date, time, person, phone number, claim or application number, and next step.
• Back up photos and records to email or cloud storage, or send a copy to a trusted person.

Use this document checklist to organize proof of identity, residence, ownership, income when requested, insurance, damage, and repair costs.

Call insurance and report local damage

Contact every policy that may apply: homeowners, renters, condominium, flood, auto, mobile-home, wind, earthquake, or a separate policy for a specific hazard. Insurance is a contract benefit, not a government grant. Coverage depends on the policy, cause of loss, limits, deductible, exclusions, and proof.

The NAIC claims guide recommends documenting losses before removing debris and making reasonable temporary repairs to prevent more damage. Ask what emergency work is covered, whether approval is needed, and how the insurer wants receipts, photos, contractor estimates, and inventories submitted.

If you have National Flood Insurance Program coverage, use the NFIP claims checklist. Report the flood promptly. The checklist says required claim documents generally must be submitted within 60 days of the flood or within the timeframe your insurer or adjuster provides. Ask specifically about the signed Proof of Loss deadline because FEMA may extend deadlines for a particular event.

Do not assume homeowners insurance covers flooding, earth movement, sewer backup, or every wind loss. Ask for a written coverage decision. If the insurer denies or underpays the claim, request the policy language and appeal or complaint instructions from the insurer and your state insurance department.

Check FEMA without waiting for rumors

FEMA Individual Assistance becomes available only when a presidential disaster declaration authorizes it for the affected area. Counties and other areas can be added later. If your location is not listed at first, keep checking and report damage to your state emergency agency.

FEMA may allow early registration before final designation in some areas. Verify the declaration and deadline through an official FEMA channel, not social media or a contractor.

Four official ways to apply

• Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Use the FEMA mobile app.
• Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. Give FEMA your relay-service number if you use one.
• Visit a local center found through the recovery center locator.

You do not have to visit a Disaster Recovery Center to apply. A center can still be useful for application help, document uploads, letters you do not understand, accessibility requests, and referrals.

Information to have ready

• Damaged address, current contact information, and Social Security number for an eligible applicant
• A general description of damage, losses, household occupancy, and insurance
• Annual household income requested during the application
• Bank information only if you choose direct deposit

Apply through an official channel even if the insurance settlement is not finished. Tell FEMA about all insurance. Upload the settlement, denial, or proof of delay when requested. FEMA cannot pay for a need already fully covered by insurance or another source.

What FEMA assistance may include

FEMA Individual Assistance is not a normal home-improvement grant with a nationwide income table. Eligibility depends on the declaration, primary residence, disaster damage, ownership or occupancy, insurance, unmet need, and documentation. Renters may receive housing, personal-property, and other eligible help, but not repair money for a building they do not own.

Read the full FEMA repair guide for inspections, ownership proof, eligible repairs, insurance issues, and follow-up. For a broader application process, see the application guide.

SBA disaster loans are not grants

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers physical disaster loans to eligible homeowners and renters in declared disaster areas. Despite the agency’s name, households can apply. This is financing that must be repaid.

• Homeowners may borrow up to $500,000 to repair or replace a disaster-damaged primary residence.
• Homeowners and renters may borrow up to $100,000 to repair or replace eligible personal property.
• Loans may cover losses not fully paid by insurance or another source.
• An eligible borrower may receive up to a 20% increase above verified real-estate damage for approved mitigation work.
• The first payment is deferred for 12 months, and interest does not accrue during the first 12 months.
• For applicants SBA determines cannot obtain credit elsewhere, the interest rate will not exceed 4%.
• Maturity can be up to 30 years, based on ability to repay, with no prepayment penalty or fee.

SBA may require available collateral for larger physical-damage loans. Its current page says collateral is required to the extent possible for loans over $50,000 under presidential declarations, but lack of collateral alone will not cause a denial. Read the note, interest rate, payment amount, lien or collateral terms, and total repayment before accepting.

An SBA loan can fill a large gap, but it is not fast emergency cash and it is not right for every household. Compare the payment with your stable monthly budget. Review these repair loan warnings before using any disaster loan or contractor financing.

Use cleanup, contractor, and volunteer help carefully

Emergency work may include tarping, boarding openings, water removal, or clearing safe access. Permanent work may require an adjuster or FEMA inspection, bids, permits, engineering, or mortgage-company approval.

Before hiring anyone:

• Ask the insurer whether an inspection or approval must happen first.
• Check the contractor’s license, insurance, address, complaints, and references.
• Get the scope, materials, price, schedule, permits, warranty, and cancellation rights in writing.
• Do not pay the full amount before work starts. Use progress payments tied to completed, inspected work.
• Do not sign over an insurance check or give a contractor control of your FEMA account.
• Confirm who removes debris and whether local rules require sorting, testing, or special disposal.

Voluntary agencies may provide muck-out, debris removal, tarps, chainsaw work, mold cleanup, accessibility work, or minor repairs. This is a service, not cash. It may be limited to certain neighborhoods, households, work types, or dates. Ask 211 and organizations listed through National VOAD. Also review volunteer repair help for questions to ask before giving access to your property.

What to do if aid is not open, is delayed, or is denied

If FEMA Individual Assistance is not open, continue with insurance, local emergency services, 211, the state emergency agency, voluntary organizations, and any state or local disaster fund. Search local repair programs for longer-term options after immediate disaster services end.

If your area is not on the first declaration, keep checking. Save proof that you reported the damage and tried to apply.

If FEMA asks for a document or inspection, respond quickly. Monitor your online account, mail, email, text, and voicemail. Inspectors should show official identification. They do not charge a fee and should not ask for banking information during the inspection.

If FEMA sends a decision you believe is wrong, read the whole letter. It should identify the reason and the documents needed. Appeals generally must reach FEMA within 60 days of the date on the decision letter. Use the FEMA denial guide to organize the appeal.

Avoid disaster scams and unsafe financing

Disaster survivors are targeted by fake inspectors, false FEMA agents, dishonest contractors, identity thieves, donation scams, and high-cost lenders. The FTC disaster scam guide warns against pressure sales, large upfront payments, blank contracts, signing over an insurance check, and payments by wire transfer, gift card, payment app, cryptocurrency, or cash when those methods remove normal protections.

If someone already applied to FEMA using your identity, call the FEMA Helpline and report identity theft. Also use IdentityTheft.gov and contact your financial institutions. For more warning signs, read the guide to application fee scams.