FEMA News Desk:
262-780-3271
NEW BERLIN, Wis. – Thursday, Oct. 21 is the last day for residents of Grant and Milwaukee counties to apply for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) want to ensure residents who experienced lost time from work or interrupted income due to the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding of July 20-24 do not miss benefits they may be entitled to receive.
DUA is one of many federal programs that were made available when President Obama declared Grant and Milwaukee counties eligible for Individual Assistance Sept. 18, 2010.
DUA extends income compensation to flood-affected residents not usually entitled to unemployment insurance such as self-employed civilians, farm workers or individuals who are unable to qualify for traditional state unemployment benefits and who: Were injured in the disaster and are unable to work, whether self-employed or working for an employer; Were unable to reach their place of work; or Derived most of their income from areas affected by the disaster, whether self-employed or working for an employer, and whose business is down as a direct result of the disaster. Apply for DUA by calling the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Unemployment Insurance Division by phone. Phones are answered from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. until noon on Saturday.
* 1-608-232-0678 (Madison)
* 1-414-438-7700 (Milwaukee)
* 1-800-822-5246 (Toll free)
* 1-888-393-8914 (TTY for individuals with speech or hearing impairments)
To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, affected residents in Grant or Milwaukee County should register with FEMA. Register online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA/3362. Those with speech or hearing impairments may call TTY 800-462-7585. Phone lines are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CDT until further notice. Help in other languages is available. The deadline to register for federal assistance is Nov. 17.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards
