On April 15, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Indiana after severe storms and tornadoes hit the state a few weeks ago. This makes federal aid available for those affected by the severe weather March 31 to April 1.

Craig Browning is with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which is helping with recovery efforts. He said a presidential declaration ensures areas that are struggling after a disaster are helped on several levels.

“A presidentially declared event is federally supported, state-managed and locally executed,” he said.

Browning said one of the biggest efforts so far are the teams in affected areas knocking on doors and asking residents if they need support.

“So far, they’ve been out for the last couple of days and have already reached around 250 residents across the 12 counties,” he said.

For those who have relocated, he said officials have been helpful to still offer those Hoosiers support.

“In the heavily impacted areas, we’re working with those local officials and we’re working with the state officials,” Browning said. “They have a database of folks that have relocated.”

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Additionally, he said more than $482,000 has been allocated to survivors and assistance applicants following the presidential declaration.

Browning said these organizations will continue to help those in need.

“They will be here until we know that we have reached every survivor and we want to ensure that survivors here in Indiana are getting the support that they need,” he said.

In order to start the recovery process, Browning said it is important that residents register with FEMA.

“That can be done in three ways,” he said. “By calling the number, which is 1-800-621-3362, by going to DisasterAssistance.gov on the web or by downloading the FEMA app.”

For those who have already submitted applications, Browning said the organization is currently looking at them.

“So far, more than 500 applications have been submitted to FEMA for processing,” he said. “These are ongoing.”

In addition to these already available resources, Browning said recovery centers will be open soon.

“Along with fixed centers, we’re also going to have roving disaster recovery centers that will bounce from community to community within a county because we want to reach people where they are,” he said.

The recovery centers are expected to open within the next week.

Violet is our daily news reporter. Contact her at vcomberwilen@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @ComberWilen.