DS News

66 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Now that we've established some basic recommendations on how best to prepare for a natural disaster, we also wanted to discuss how an area becomes a Presidentially Declared Disaster Area, as well as the different types of declarations that can be made. e Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) states, in part, "...all requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State." Such requests by the governor of a state, or the acting governor in their absence, are made to the president through the appropriate regional administrator within 30 days of the in- cident's occurrence. According to the act, that period may be extended provided that a written request is made. Once the requests have been made, reviewed, and approved, the president can declare an emergency or major disaster (if applicable). An Emergency Declaration is made when the president determines that federal assistance is needed. Emergency Declarations supplement state and local or Indian tribal government efforts in providing emergency services, such as the protection of lives, property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States. In contrast, a Major Disaster Declaration is used for a disaster or natural event—includ- ing any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earth- quake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or, regardless of cause, fire, flood, or explosion—that the President determines has caused damage of such severity that it is beyond the combined capabilities of state and local governments to respond. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE No matter which type of declaration is made, two different forms of assistance can be determined—individual assistance and/or pub- lic assistance. Both can also be used simultane- ously. Individual assistance means assistance to individuals and households, which may include counseling programs, disaster case manage- ment, disaster unemployment assistance, or disaster legal services. Public assistance focuses more on assistance to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain private nonprofit or- ganizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities. e distinction between individual and public assistance is important, as occasion- ally servicers may issue moratoriums on loans, depending on which assistance has been determined. For homeowners, it is important to speak with their servicers after a natural disaster in order to determine if a moratorium will be issued. Typically, the moratoriums last 90 days, but they may occasionally be extended for longer periods of time. ese moratoriums are extremely important to track, especially when it comes to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) deadlines and tracking the new FHA deadlines upon expira- tion of the moratoria. It is vital to monitor each new deadline to ensure no deadlines are missed. Information regarding which coun- ties have been declared a major disaster can be found on FEMA's website, which should be checked multiple times daily in the aftermath of a disaster event. Once the storm has passed, and any declarations have been made, it is important for the firm to assess the damage and resume operations. is includes ensuring that all staff is safe, that the firm's office is secure and free from damage, and that power and internet are restored. If not, service requests must be esca- lated to the proper authorities and it must be confirmed that it is safe for employees to travel to the office. RESUMING OPERATIONS During the resumption of operations, it is key to have a clear line of communication with the case-management system administrator to identify, track, and manage affected properties within the firm's caseload. Having back-end access to the firm's case-management system allows for the development of customizable internal and client-reporting needs. Creating customizable reporting that factors in affected counties, declared disaster areas, clients, and investors allows for seamless communication and follow-up with clients. Another effective way to track and man- age the workload is by creating custom event sequences within your internal case-manage- ment system. Inspection and condition of the property prior to conveyance to an investor is key, which requires diligent follow-up and communication with the client(s) as to the affected properties. Investment in sophisticated integration software between the firm's case- management system and the client's system could be vital in allowing your office to receive real-time updates from the clients as to the di- rective under which they wish to proceed with the affected property. At the end of the day, no one can plan 100% for every situation, but we can certainly try to be as prepared as possible. Emergency Declarations supplement state and local or Indian tribal government efforts in providing emergency services, such as the protection of lives, property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.

• Cover