Following Governor Tom Wolf’s successful request that President Joe Biden declare a major disaster in Pennsylvania from the remnants of Ida, the governor today announced that additional counties have been approved for federal disaster relief. 

The major disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide federal funding and services to eligible individuals and households in Bedford and Northampton counties through the Individual Assistance program.

“This terrible storm had a significant impact on the entire commonwealth. Thanks to the thorough work of state, federal and local officials to assess damages, more counties are now eligible for much-needed federal assistance,” Gov. Wolf said. “As Pennsylvanians continue to recover from the storm’s impact, this financial support will undoubtedly help even more individuals and households.” 

A major disaster declaration for Individual Assistance for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and York counties and for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to be made available to all 67 counties of the commonwealth was recently approved. 

Governor Wolf urged individuals in the declared counties who suffered property damage or loss as a direct result of the remnants of Ida to register with FEMA and apply for disaster assistance. 

Impacted residents of Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and York counties should register with FEMA online at disasterassistance.gov, through the FEMA app, or by calling the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Helpline services are available seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM ET. FEMA also has Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) Teams deployed to provide hands-on assistance with registration and to answer questions. 

In the coming days, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) will be working with its partners at FEMA, as well as with county governments, to organize and open a number of Disaster Recovery Centers in impacted communities. FEMA will have staff available at these centers to assist residents with the appropriate documents and expedite the process of obtaining recovery aid. More information is available at www.PEMA.pa.gov/Ida.

“The impact of this disaster will be felt for years to come,” said PEMA Director Randy Padfield. “Getting Individual Assistance to survivors will speed up the recovery process to restore some sense of normalcy in these communities.” 

For more information about FEMA’s support to Pennsylvania’s recovery is available at fema.gov/disaster/4618.