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Course Details
Course Name: Surviving a Declared Disaster: Making Your FEMA Application Manageable
Course Code: ER0331WA23
Date of Most Recent Offering: December 8, 2022
Course Overview
Disasters don’t just happen during hurricane season. In recent years, events ranging from freak windstorms to excessively heavy rain and snow events have highlighted how vulnerable a community can be to the devastation caused by a disaster. Preparedness is not just having the right emergency equipment; it is also having the right information you need to present your case to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for appropriate financial reimbursement.
Designed with all levels of community/government personnel in mind, this course will present the basics on how to best prepare an application for the FEMA reimbursement program when a disaster is declared. Recordkeeping, discussion of the “damage definition,” and application hints and hacks will make the often-confusing process more manageable.
Be prepared – learn what you need to know before disaster strikes!
Featured Topics
- Conducting Community-wide Damage Surveys
- Debris Collection Preparation
- Categories of Damage and Related Filing Guidelines
- Photographic Recordkeeping
- Procedures for Follow Up on Post-filing Payment Requests
Meet Your Instructor
MaryEllen Lyons, CPWM, CRP
MaryEllen Lyons brings more than 25 years of work experience in the public sector to the classroom. A New Jersey Certified Public Works Manager and Certified Recycling Professional, her talent for communication and data analysis, combined with her knowledge of FEMA and state grant requirements, make her the ideal instructor for this topic. With a proven history of fostering cooperation to meet team, individual, and governmental objectives, she will offer insights and procedures that will assist you in developing both FEMA and other government-sponsored funding programs.
Continuing Education Credits
The most recent offering of Surviving a Declared Disaster: Making Your FEMA Application Manageable was approved for 0.3 Rutgers CEUs, as well as the following credits from professional organizations. We will reapply for similar credits the next time the course runs, but we cannot guarantee credit approval for future offerings.
New Jersey
NJ Certified Public Works Managers (CPWM): 3 Government Contact Hours
NJ Certified Recycling Professionals (CRP): 3 credits
NJ Drinking Water and Wastewater Operators: 3 TCHs (Approval #01-092202-30)
NJ Health Officers and Registered Environmental Health Specialists (HO/REHS): Rutgers University, NJAES, Office of Continuing Professional Education has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Health as a provider of NJ Public Health Continuing Education Contact Hours (CEs). Participants who complete this course will be awarded 3.5 CEs.
Program Questions? We’re Here to Help!
If you have any questions about Surviving a Declared Disaster: Making Your FEMA Application Manageable, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Assistant Director: Carol Broccoli
848-932-7207
carolbr@njaes.rutgers.edu

Administrative Assistant: Claudine Oleskin
848-932-7204
coleskin@njaes.rutgers.edu
For registration assistance, please contact our Registration Department at 848-932-9271, option 2 or email registration@njaes.rutgers.edu.