How a disaster declaration works

Three kinds of declaration

Major disaster (DR). The broadest kind. A governor or tribal leader asks the President when a disaster is beyond what the state and local governments can handle. It is the only kind that can switch on the whole menu, including help for individual households.

Emergency (EM). Narrower and usually faster, often before landfall or while an event is still unfolding. It mostly pays for emergency work such as evacuations, shelters and protective measures. Federal help under one emergency is capped at $5 million unless the President finds that more is urgently needed and reports that to Congress. Households rarely get direct assistance under an emergency declaration.

Fire management assistance (FM). Approved by a FEMA regional administrator while a wildfire threatens to become a major disaster. It reimburses firefighting costs. It does not include help for households.

Three programs, switched on county by county

Inside a declaration, each designated area gets its own combination of programs:

• Individual Assistance (IA) lets households apply to FEMA for temporary housing, repairs and other uninsured needs. FEMA's newer records call the core of it the Individuals and Households Program.
• Public Assistance (PA) reimburses state and local governments, tribes and certain nonprofits for debris removal, emergency protective measures and rebuilding public infrastructure. Residents don't apply for it.
• Hazard Mitigation (HM) funds projects that reduce future losses. It is often granted statewide.

So "my county was declared" can mean very different things. If Individual Assistance wasn't switched on for your county, you can't apply to FEMA under that declaration, even though your county is on the list. FEMA sometimes adds IA later as damage assessments finish.

The dates that matter

Incident period. The official start and end of the disaster. Damage generally has to happen inside it to qualify for FEMA help. An open-ended incident period means FEMA hasn't closed it yet.

Declaration date. When the President (or, for fire grants, FEMA) approved it. Application deadlines usually count from here: typically 60 days for households, often extended.

Closeout. When FEMA finishes the books on a declaration, often years later.

Other help keys off disaster declarations under each agency's own rules: IRS tax-deadline relief, special enrollment periods for Medicare and marketplace health plans, disaster SNAP, and SBA disaster loans. Some of these can start without a FEMA declaration: SBA, the IRS and Medicare can act on a governor's or local declaration. Disaster SNAP needs a major disaster declaration that includes Individual Assistance. Check each agency for which dates count.