Federal Assistance for Earthquake

Alaska Earthquake Survivors Encouraged to Register for Federal Assistance

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Homeowners, renters and business owners in the Municipality of Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Kenai Peninsula Borough who suffered loss or damages as a result of the earthquake on Nov. 30, 2018 may register for federal disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

You can apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) anytime from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available. Individuals who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362.

You will need to apply separately for the FEMA Individual Assistance program, even if you already registered for the State Individual Assistance program. Federal assistance can augment what is available from the state, and requires a separate registration.

To register, you will need the following information:

• Social security number
• Current mailing address
• Damaged home address
• Phone numbers
• Type of insurance coverage
• Total annual household income
• Routing and account number from your bank if you want to have disaster assistance funds transferred directly into your bank account.

If you do not have your bank routing number you can find it on the Federal ABA Bank Routing Number Directory. If you wish to receive email notifications and text messages, you will need to provide that information, but if you prefer postal mail you can receive information to your current mailing address.

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for businesses of all sizes (including landlords), private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters. Disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries; however, an SBA applicant does not need to wait for their insurance settlement.

You should also contact your insurance company to file an insurance claim. FEMA is unable to duplicate insurance payments. However, if you  are underinsured, you may still receive help after your insurance claim has been settled. If you do not have insurance, you can register with FEMA for disaster assistance.

The president declared a major disaster January 31, 2019 to assist individuals and households as they recover from the effects of the earthquake. additional areas may be designated at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (voice, 711/VRS - Video Relay Service) (TTY: 800-462-7585). Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).

FEMA's mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.

For official information on the recovery effort following the Alaska earthquake please visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4413. Follow us on twitter @femaregion10.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.