Western Alaskans have an extra two weeks to apply for state and federal disaster assistance as recovery efforts from ex-Typhoon Merbok are still ongoing in various communities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, announced last week that it is extending the application deadline for disaster assistance from Nov. 22 to Dec. 6.
Alaska Rep. Neal Foster, who is currently in the midst of a tight election race for his seat, said his office was pushing for the deadline extension.
He said the State Emergency Operations Center has told him that people living outside of Western Alaska who own subsistence camps that were affected by the severe September storm will be able to apply for “other needs assistance program.”
For those who aren’t able to assess the damage to their camps and subsistence gear until next spring or summer, their disaster assistance will be considered by the state on a case-by-case basis.
This is the second time the federal disaster assistance deadline has been extended since a federal disaster was first declared on Sept. 23.
Davis Hovey is a news reporter at KNOM - Nome.
Hovey was born and raised in Virginia. He spent most of his childhood in Greene County 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville where University of Virginia is located.
Hovis was drawn in by the opportunity to work for a radio station in a remote, unique place like Nome Alaska. Hovis went to Syracuse University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Broadcast Digital Journalism.
