Historic flooding across Long Island wreaked havoc on roads, homes and wallets, especially for those who do not have flood insurance. The big question now is who will help clean up the damage left behind.

Team 12 Investigates how homeowners can recoup some of the money they spend on repairs.

After a disaster strikes, homeowners should notify their county’s Office of Emergency Management so they can document the damage. Nassau County is currently working to create a website that would allow people to input their damages directly.

County officials will provide this assessment information to the state for review. The state will determine the storm’s impact and decide whether federal resources are needed.

“New York state is committed to accessing every federal recovery dollar our residents are entitled to following last week’s historic rain,” said Colin Brennan, deputy commissioner for External Affairs at the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). “State and local teams are now in the initial stages of the damage assessment process and will work to complete those activities as quickly as possible.”

The DHSES Disaster Recovery Unit is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and impacted county officials to assess the flood damage.

In order to obtain federal resources, the governor must meet federal damage thresholds to submit a request to the White House. All emergency and major disaster declarations are made solely at the discretion of the president.

The governor has 30 days to submit a request to unlock federal recovery funding in the form of reimbursements.

If the request is approved, resources and funding from FEMA will be made available to Long Island communities. The funding could help families offset the costs of home repairs—even if they do not have flood insurance.

Nassau County is also working towards a request for a Small Business Administration (SBA) declaration. The threshold to reach an SBA declaration is 25 homes and/or businesses with 40% or more uninsured loss of the Fair Market Value of the home or property.

Once the state has received the documented damages, the SBA will come out to validate the damages reported and determine whether the threshold has been met.

SBA Physical Disaster Loans are federal assistance for non-farm, private-sector disaster losses. Approval of a state’s request for an Administrative Declaration authorizes Physical Disaster Loans to support the recovery of residents, businesses, and private nonprofit organizations.