FEMA now funds car damage from hurricanes

Florida residents now may be eligible to receive FEMA assistance for vehicles damaged by Hurricane Debby.

According to a news release Friday, FEMA said a vehicle — which must be an approved vehicle type, such as a car, truck, SUV or van — has to be proven inoperable or unsafe to drive to be eligible for aid.

Cosmetic repairs will not be covered, FEMA officials said.

While financial assistance is usually limited to one vehicle per household, FEMA said a second vehicle can be claimed if a statement about its essential need to the household is submitted.

Other requirements include valid state registration, valid insurance, and the vehicle must be owned or leased by the applicant, co-applicant or household member. The car cannot be a rental.

Eligibility can only be confirmed through an application to FEMA.

There are four ways to do that:

Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov

.Use the FEMA AppVisit the Disaster Recovery Center at Sarasota Christian Church at 2923 Ashton Road, Sarasota. Its hours run 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.Call 800-621-3362 any day. Multilingual operators are available. Anyone who uses a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, can give FEMA that number for that service.