Disaster Area: Residents Apply to FEMA

President Barack Obama declared New Jersey a major disaster area Wednesday afternoon, making federal funds available to affected people in Morris County and four other counties in the state.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured or underinsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of Hurricane Irene.

FEMA is expected to open a disaster recovery center within the next day or two.

In the meantime, affected residents should register for disaster assistance right away, officials said.

"Residents need to register without delay," Montville's Office of Emergency Management coordinator Lt. Rudy Appelmann said. "This part moves pretty fast."

Lancaster Avenue resident Arthur Steele said he registered with FEMA on Thursday and had started talking with contractors about repairing his home, which was flooded on the first floor and in the basement on Sunday.

He said starting the recovery process made him feel a little better.

"It's a real emotional roller coaster," he said.

Affected residents can find out more about the registration process at www.fema.gov/assistance/ or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362).

Registrations can be filed online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via Web-enabled mobile phone at m.fema.gov.

Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service should call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.