FEMA Disaster Declaration for Bristol County

Disaster Declaration

On May 15, President Joseph Biden approved a disaster declaration for Massachusetts and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts for those affected by the severe storms and flooding from September 11-13. 

This declaration makes Federal funding available to affected residents and business owners in Bristol County. 

FEMA Federal Assistance

FEMA has been appointed to oversee the distribution of disaster declaration funds. There are several ways residents can begin applying for FEMA assistance, including:

• Community members can apply for FEMA assistance through an online platform, disasterassistance.gov, or call 1-800-621-3362.   
• Business owners, residential homeowners and renters can apply for Small Business Administration (SBA) SBA assistance over the phone, 1-800-659-2955, or online at sba.gov/disaster.
• FEMA representatives will also go door-to-door to follow up with residents and assist with applications. The FEMA representatives will have identification and FEMA will provide identification information for their employees to the Police Department. Representatives will be in the area through Saturday and then again on Tuesday until further notice. If you have any questions about whether or not someone is a FEMA representative, please contact North Attleborough Police at 508-695-1212 to verify.  
  • Please note that the Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams has ended its door-to-door assessments, effective June 10.
• Any residents or business owners in Bristol County who are in need of assistance related to the Sept. 11-13, 2023, flooding and storms may visit the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) located at Bristol Community College (1 Willard Road, Attleboro, MA 02703). The center is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; no appointment is necessary. 

FEMA and Small Business Administration representatives will explain the particulars of each available program, as well as the application requirements and what to expect after community members apply.  

Please note that if community members previously filled out a survey to report storm damage, such as BigRed311, this is NOT considered an application for assistance, and they still need to apply directly with FEMA and SBA.

FEMA Disaster Recovery Center

Any residents or business owners in Bristol County who are in need of assistance related to the Sept. 11-13, 2023, flooding and storms may visit the center. Disaster assistance specialists will be on hand to assist with FEMA Individual Assistance applications and uploading documents. They will also be able to answer any questions community members may have. 

FEMA specialists and representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which can provide low-interest disaster loans to survivors, will also be on hand to discuss available assistance. 

Please let a FEMA specialist at the center know if you need a reasonable accommodation, sign language interpreter, or translation or interpreter assistance.  FEMA can arrange a home visit if a disaster survivor cannot travel to the DRC.  

IRS Tax Relief

the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will provide tax relief for qualifying individuals and businesses in Bristol County that were affected by severe storms and flooding from September 11-13. 

As part of the tax relief, affected individuals and businesses will have until July 31, 2024, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during the period of Sept. 11, 2023, through July 31, 2024.  

The IRS will automatically provide filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. These taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief. 

According to the IRS, the postponed deadline will now apply to: 

• Individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024. 
• 2023 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers. 
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 15, 2023, Jan. 16, 2024, April 15, 2024, and June 17, 2024. 
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024, and April 30, 2024. 
• Calendar-year partnership and S corporation returns normally due on March 15, 2024. 
• Calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024. 
• Calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2024. 

Please note that penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 11, 2023, and before Sept. 26, 2023, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by Sept. 26, 2023. 

Additionally, individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2023 return normally filed this year), or the return for the prior year (2022). 

For additional information, please visit IRS.gov.