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.