President Joe Biden added Santa Barbara County to the federal disaster declaration Tuesday night, which will unlock additional storm recovery funding and allow residents to apply for financial assistance.
Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, has been lobbying the administration to add Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to the declaration due to the heavy storm damage on the Central Coast.
Biden approved a disaster declaration last week for Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Merced counties in California, and this week added Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“President Biden’s approval of individual and public assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency will allow Central Coast residents and business owners to apply directly for relief, as well as support repair and replacement work being done by local governments and emergency managers in both counties,” Carbajal said Tuesday.
He spent Monday and Tuesday touring damaged areas of his district, including flooded homes in Orcutt and Guadalupe in the North County, with FEMA representatives and county supervisors.
“I am grateful to President Biden and FEMA leadership for hearing the stories that I and others have shared from the Central Coast this past week, and recognizing the need for direct federal assistance to help not only our municipal repair crews, but also the individual residents and business owners that have had livelihoods wrecked by this month’s storms,” Carbajal said in a statement.
“As I have traveled to flood-damaged communities up and down our coast these past few days, I have promised to people whose homes and stores were flooded with mud and debris that I would fight to get the assistance they needed. And I know this declaration is the next step in my keeping that promise to them.”
Residents and business owners can apply for disaster relief through FEMA online or by phone.
- Apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
- Residents may call the application phone number at 1.800.621.3362 (TTY: 800.462.7585).
“If you are not able to live in your home at this time due to storm impact causing water damage, mold, mud or inability to access your home, please make sure you include this in your application,” Santa Barbara County officials said.
The federal disaster declaration also allows public agencies to apply for reimbursement for debris removal costs, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
Santa Barbara County Damage and Recovery
Santa Barbara County declared a local emergency on Jan. 9, the day of the powerful storm that caused widespread flooding, mudslides and rockfalls.
At the time, County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato recognized Carbajal’s efforts to get the county included in the federal disaster declaration.
No deaths, injuries or missing persons were reported during the storm in Santa Barbara County, but there was major damage.
Highway 154 is still closed to through traffic, the Santa Barbara Harbor entrance is silted in to the point of being impassable, and many roadways were covered in debris or washed out by flooding, likely leading to long-term closures.
Homes were flooded and structurally damaged in Orcutt, Guadalupe, and Santa Barbara neighborhoods, and many more communities had levels of flooding that filled yards and nearby streets with mud and debris.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited a Montecito debris basin last week and praised the community’s resilience in the face of disaster.
Santa Barbara County has a storm recovery resources page here: https://www.readysbc.org/3683/January-2023-Storm-Recovery
The websites have information about virtual and in-person assistance centers; discovery resource center/FEMA assistance programs; document and personal property replacement; returning home after a disaster; business resources; insurance documentation; property tax disaster relief; rebuilding/case management; and mental health resources.
“If you’ve had damage caused by the storm, please take photos! Documenting all damage with photos is very important for getting state and federal assistance—and it’s just as important for you if you’ll need reimbursement through your insurance,” according to the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
