Yesterday afternoon, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell participated in a White House media brief to provide an update on the federal response to wildfires in Hawaii.
Criswell called into the briefing while on the ground in Hawaii where she’s been surveying the damages with Gov. Josh Green. She announced that FEMA is now offering two programs to provide immediate resources to wildfire survivors.
“I have been in continuous communication with the president since these fires started,” Criswell said. “We know that survivors have basic needs that must be met now, and we have two programs available to provide immediate support.”
FEMA activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance and Critical Needs Assistance programs for wildfire survivors in Maui County. These programs provide relief to survivors by supplying shelter, or money to cover urgent needs like food, water or medical supplies.
The TSA program allows survivors to shelter in pre-identified hotels or motels for a limited amount of time as they develop their housing plan. FEMA pays for these hotel rooms so there is no out of pocket expense for survivors.
The CNA program can provide eligible survivors with a one-time $700 payment per household and can offer residents some relief during this unimaginably difficult time. This money can be used for life- saving and life-sustaining items.
There are several ways for Maui County survivors to apply for federal assistance: by visiting FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance staff who are visiting American Red Cross shelters, by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-3362 or using the FEMA mobile app.
For anyone using a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, should give FEMA the number for that service.
