FEMA urging residents to apply for help

Shakeva Palmer has been dealing with a month's worth of mold since Tropical Storm Debby hit her Springfield home.

"I can see the mold coming across," Palmer said.

Palmer was one of many homeowners unaware federal assistance was available.

"I knew they were doing Clay County, but I didn't know Duval County," Palmer said.

While Palmer is now one of more than 12,000 Florida residents turning to FEMA for help, Disaster center officials said many more still haven't registered and could miss out if they don't act fast.

"The deadline for disaster assistance as a result of Tropical Storm Debby is coming up in about a month," FEMA spokesperson Ted Stuckey said. "The actual deadline is September 4th."

Despite FEMA's community relation teams going door to door to identify and follow up with those in need, officials said registration has drastically slowed.

It's prompted concerns that many either don't know about the help or assume they're ineligible.

"They tend to say things for instance, that they have insurance so they're not eligible, which is not true," Stuckey said. "The truth is, if you have insurance, if you're a renter, you may be eligible for some assistance."

The registration process only takes 15 to 20 minutes and FEMA said many see some kind of assistance within a week, which is much faster than Palmer expected. She's thrilled to finally be on the road to recovery.

"There's going to be a FEMA representative that's going to come out and do his own inspection and then they are going to be mediator, the go between," Palmer said.