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Displaced applicants may be eligible for up to $4,000 in relocation expenses

ATLANTA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reminding residents of the relocation assistance program extension for hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To date, more than 7,300 families have been helped with moving and transportation costs incurred as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Applicants displaced from their primary residence in a disaster-declared area of Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas as a result of hurricanes Katrina or Rita are eligible for up to $4,000 in relocation expenses incurred between Aug. 29, 2005, to the program deadline. Applicants are encouraged to note the following deadlines for the relocation assistance program: 

• Texas – April 30, 2008
• Louisiana -- August 31, 2008
• Mississippi – August 31, 2008

As a matter of information, for families currently living in FEMA travel trailers or mobile homes in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, FEMA will pay relocation expenses to a FEMA-funded rental source or non-FEMA funding housing anywhere in the continental United States. 

Relocation Assistance will be limited to travel costs including airfare, train, bus and/or a rental vehicle. Furniture transportation expenses also are eligible, including commercially rented equipment for hauling and commercially purchased moving materials or moving services. 

Evidence of expenses, such as receipts, must be provided for reimbursement. Mileage, gas and other travel-related expenses such as food incurred while using a privately owned vehicle are not eligible costs. Moving costs for recreational or large luxury items such as boats or recreational vehicles are not eligible expenses under this program either. 

Disaster assistance from FEMA, including relocation assistance, may not exceed the FEMA Individuals and Households Program limit of $26,200, the limit at the time the disasters were declared. Applicants must not have received funds from any other state, federal or voluntary agency subsidized travel home program.
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For more information on FEMA's Relocation Assistance program or to request assistance, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY: 1-800-462-7585).  FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made.