For any emergencies, please dial 911.
For the latest updates and information visit VA’s Disaster Help website.
We are currently experiencing an unprecedented hurricane season, impacting millions of Americans. As we face this and other natural disasters like tornados and historic flooding, it’s important for Veterans and their families to know that the VA is here to help. In the wake of a disaster, here are some resources available to you.
Veterans Crisis Line
Free, confidential support is available 24/7 for Veterans in crisis by phone, text, or chat:
- Dial 988 then Press 1.
- Send a text to 838255.
- Chat Online.
- Support for deaf and hard of hearing: 1-800-799-4889.
Housing Assistance
If you or a Veteran you know needs immediate housing assistance in the aftermath of a natural disaster, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, available 24/7: 1-877-4AID VETS (1-877-424-3838).
If you’ve relocated to a shelter or a disaster recovery center because of a natural disaster, we may have already deployed a team to connect you with the health care and benefits you need. If you need help finding housing, we’ll assign you to a case manager.
Learn more about disaster recovery centers on the FEMA website
If you have a VA loan and your home was affected by a natural disaster, please find information on the Home Loan Guaranty (LGY) website.
VA Contact Information
Reach us with any VA related questions or for information at:
- MyVA411 main information line 24/7: 1-800-698-2411.
- Ask VA.
Health Care
If you’re enrolled in VA health care and a disaster has impacted you, we may already be in contact with you to learn how we can support you. If we haven’t contacted you, call your nearest VA medical center to speak with the patient advocate team.
- Check out the Find VA locations tool to locate a facility closest to you.
- Our emergency pharmacy service may be deployed during a natural disaster. These self-contained vehicles can serve as an outpatient pharmacy for Veterans in the affected area within a few hours.
- If a natural disaster has impacted your access to needed prescriptions or medical equipment like oxygen tanks, we can work with mobile clinics, home health teams, and community care providers to get you the prescriptions and medical equipment you need.
- VA may also stage Public Contact Teams at local shelters or in Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) to connect Veterans with needed health care and benefits, to include housing case management.
- VA health benefits hotline is staffed Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET: 1-877-222-8387.
- Natural disasters may impact your ability to reach us via phone. If you think your life or health is in danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If you have non-urgent/emergency questions, you can reach VA through My HealtheVet secure messaging for appointment scheduling, prescription refills and to access your medical records.
- If you do not have a My HealtheVet account, take time and register today. Do not forget to opt-in to receive email notifications for Secure Messaging.
- VA supports Caregivers! Contact your local facility or the Caregiver’s Support Line: 1-855-260-3274.
- Check out this toolkit to assist Caregivers plan for and react to natural disasters.
- VA supports Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) beneficiaries. Medications that you receive through Meds by Mail can also be refilled at your local pharmacy during an emergency. If you need a medication refill, please ask your primary care doctor to call it in to your local pharmacy. Medically necessary durable medical equipment may also be covered by CHAMPVA if you are impacted by a natural disaster.
Benefits and Compensation
- Unable to get a benefit payment after a disaster? Contact the VA National Call Center and learn how to request a special one-time payment: 1-800-827-1000.
- VA encourages mortgage servicers to put a 90-day pause on foreclosures and waive late charges after a disaster. Visit the VA home loans webpage to learn more.
- If your school closes temporarily due to a disaster, VA may continue payments. Contact GI Bill specialists at: 1-888-442-4551.
- If you are a displaced Veteran and receive employment services from VA, you may qualify for two additional months of Employee Adjustment Allowance (EAA).
- Contact your local VA Regional Office to speak with your local Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) Specialist to learn more.
- VA Specially Adapted Housing Program may be able to assist you to fund home repairs after a disaster, following FEMA and insurance. Reach Adapted Housing at 1-877-827-3702.
- If a disaster caused the loss of a previously adaptable automobile, VA may be able to help after insurance. Contact us at 1-800-827-1000.
- Mail Contingency. If natural disasters disrupt the timeliness of VA receiving your important claims paperwork or gathering information from you, know that VA will not penalize you for subsequent mail delays. You may also submit claims and upload any other relevant information through your VA.gov account.
For life insurance
If you’re affected by a natural disaster, we may offer instant loan approvals online or provide same-day processing for policy loans.
We also provide same-day processing and approval for these:
- Withdrawals from dividend credit and deposit accounts
- A claim for when an insured person dies
The Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (OSGLI) follows disaster alerts issued by each state’s Department of Insurance in the event of a natural disaster. These alerts generally pause insurance coverage from lapsing for people in affected areas and extend the grace period for premium payments.
To learn more, call us at 800-669-8477. We’re here from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.
To contact OSGLI, call us at 800-419-1473. We’re here from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Or, you can email us at osgli.osgli@prudential.com .
Fraud
Some predators use natural disasters and emergencies to target Veterans. This may include disaster response imposters and scammers claiming they’re from charities offering fake emergency loans.
If you think you may be a victim of fraud, call us at 833-388-7233. We’re here 24/7.
VA’s Office of Emergency Management drives a comprehensive emergency management program at all VA facilities to ensure continuity of benefits and health care for Veterans. While we shared quite a few resources above, it is important to work with your local VA teams so they can fully support you following a natural disaster.
Learn more about disaster assistance resources for Veterans.
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I need to know which department of the VA I should contact to get help from someone who can take care of me. I am 8o% disabled and need help with personal care, and keeping the house clean. I suffer from chronic pain. And I notice that I am not as steady on my feet as I was in the past.
What about food loss. Could use help on that.
If you are facing food insecurity and require help, please find out more about the Veterans Food Assistance Program from the Disabled veterans National Foundation.
In regard to Sleep Apnea, I suggest getting a mouth device so that when you lose power you can still have another effective treatment option. These devices, which must be fitted by a dentist or orthodontist, and worn in the mouth at night include. Mandibular advancement device (MAD). The most widely used mouth device for sleep apnea, MADs look much like a mouth guard used in sports. I hope they assist with the generator.
Thank you, VA, for putting out this information! We’re going to continue seeing more and more disasters due to climate change, and the work that you are doing is essential.
Where is the help to do actual clean up work? Multiple huge trees down that impede access and egress from our property. With left sided hemiparesis, my husband, the Veteran is unable to do the work and as he requires total assist with everything, I cannot do the work and I too, have multiple physical limitations that preclude me from doing anything but the lightest of outdoor work.
Can I get help from va if my husband was a lifer retired but now he passed away on me. I’m in the system cause I have tri- care . If someone could get back with me . Hurricane victim sincerely Michelle Stewart
The VA has done more for me since l signed up and I will be eternally grateful. People tell me thankyou for your service, I tell them I thank the service for the oppurtunity to serve. The Navy made me grow up and gave me the career and life I now have.
Amen Wm D Jones
Thank you for providing this information, which I’m happy to share the link to on Facebook. One item you may wish to consider. In our home we have two honorably discharged veterans. both who depend on CPAP machines prescribed by the VA. One of us also has a heart monitor/defibrillator/pacemaker from the VA. The heart monitor communicates with an in-house device that reports cardiac info to a monitoring service on behalf of the VA. All these machines plug into household electric. If we lose electric we lose the machines we rely on. Is there a program to help vets such as us get access to a generator when electric fails?
Did you receive any response? We are in Temple Terrace and NO POWER. Husband requires oxygen. Tanks empty. Only just reached VA EMERGENCY OXYGEN DELIVERY SVC They are without power at warehouse and WILL TRY TO PROVIDE TODAY. THIS IS VERY SAD – NO BACKUP PROVISIONS – VETS WILL DIE.
Nancy, Have you received the oxygen for your husband yet?
Hillsborough Emergency Management can assist with getting you oxygen or with getting you to a shelter with power until yours comes on. (813) 301-7418.
Where are you which state ill get my daughter to bring you some hek or high water! Love you sincerely Michelle Stewart
The Disaster assistance and resources for Veterans dated October 8, 2024 is fantastic!
Simple communication resources – well formated, easy reading ? and guidance.
Keep the information simple. 2 – 4 minutes read. Job well done! Thank you.
Thanks for info!???
I experienced a pipe freeze in Jan 2024, which flooded my basement and my house which I had just purchased in March 2023 has sustained damages due to soil erosion. It is off lever by 2″ to 5 1/2″ and the walls and ceilings are pulling away from themselves. My insurance company hired a structural engineer who stated there had been previous movement and therefore my insurance carrier will not repair the damages. I have one estimate to relevel and secured the building, as well as one for refinishing my now dungeons basement. One exteriour wall is buldging by 6,” and the floor joists are also weakening. The home was sold to me as a 2 bd, 1 bath which is now a 1 bd with a non finished basement. During this crisis, the insurance did pay for a motel room for almost 5 months until the water lines were repaired. I am 80% disabled and 62 years old. I am having major issues with walking inside the house because of the steep grades now especially when I am using my medications. I can not afford to fix the house and am afraid I may have to walk away because it’s never going to get repaired, and I need the second bedroom in cade I need someone to live in. It has also substantially reduced the value of my property. I found out that it should never have been sold as a 2 bd because there is only one egress for the basement and the ceiling is only 5’6″ as well.
Please contact a real estate attorney and I pray things get resolved quickly for you.
Was supposed to get benefits check out scheduled but never received it nor a decision on health benefits or disability.
Fantastic, this is excellent care for all veterans in need. Thank you for taking the time to inform all veterans about the emergency services that are available.
We so fortunate to be veterans in America. I would do it over again.
All good info! Thx for sharing.
I am a veteran living in Houston. I’ve recently been affected by Hurricane Beryl and I’m still having a slow rocky recovery with minimum resources . If any type of loan assistance is available I would greatly appreciate it, thanks
Thanks for all you do for us !!! April 1,1965 Vietnam MACV Advisor gunship crewchief !!!
So I purchased a home under a VA Loan 3+ years ago right before the loan cleared Utah had an earthquake. The home inspector came through and said everything looks okay on the surface but about a year and half ago I notice a settling crack in my walls inside the home and about a year I noticed that I was getting water in my basement when it rains from my front porch. I have had multiple contractors come look at it and the say the front porch needs to be pulled out and re-poured because the settling caused by the earthquake caused everything to settle toward the house. That is a $20K fix. I approached my homeowner’s insurance and said sorry not our problem. I am a disabled vet and cannot afford a $20K fix like this that is related to a natural disaster. Does the VA help cover things like this?
What if a veterans house was hit by a tornado 3 years ago and still needs so work done that the insurance contractor didn’t finish the jobs
In 2023 I had hip replacement on March 2. On March 31, we had a tornado go over my apartment. When I got up off the floor in the bathroom, I hurt my hip and had to be transported to the ER by ambulance. After Medicare paid the hospital bill the ambulance bill was sent to VA. I got the bill from VA and didn’t pay the ambulance bill cause it wasn’t VA related. The VA paid for the surgery on my hip, so wouldn’t that mean that it was VA related and the VA should pay the ambulance bill ?
I’m glad you have these resources
But here in Central Ga. they don’t give a Damn about us getting out needed medications. I had COVID 19 the Hurricane Helene damaged my home a property. I’m still sitting here with no power or water. But my VA pcp REFUSED to fill my pain meds until I went up there to give a drug screen. Finally was able to get out of my property Monday to give them their prescious drug test. Then, took 2 more days to get my meds. And had to drive 40 miles One Way to get them. The pcp’s at Dublin don’t care about us one bit. I have been giving clean drug tests for close to 20 years and they refused to fill my meds till I could get there. My new PCP won’t fill them at all. I have to get the Chief of Dept to fill them until I can get appt with Pain Management. This Phone Opioid Crisis just allows these worthless dr’s a way to ignore us . My previous Dr of 20+ years had me as Palliative, so I am exempt from the Stupid CDC Opioid Guidelines. But new Dr hasn’t even looked at my file to see Why I am on Long Term Opioid Therapy. Been on these meds for Over 30 years. They give my the ability to function a somewhat positive life. But my new Dr says Tough Sh-t. Just suffer..
Have you tried contacting a patient advocate at the VA? I hear you can request a different PCP if you don’t like your present one. After my CA. surgery I was assigned a separate Doctor at the Pain Clinic. Most all pain meds are handled by him rather than a PCP. The government requires the periodic Drug screening and for that you can thank your elected Representatives for the clampdown on Drugs without adequate provisions for patients with acute pain requirements. When you almost can’t think straight trying to handle the pain and other trouble you have as a patient you sure don’t need to be fighting bureaucratic red tape and jumping through their hoops!
Is there a fund to assist as our home has been devastated by a Hail storm on 7 Jul 2024. We have a high deductible of $7500 and am not sure how I will be able to recover this.
most of what is said is true. ive been with the VA for over 55 years.been treated with respect more often then not!the best health care in the world .so stop crying and do the work!
The system of help is a big joke, most often people are devastated with challenges and lots of hard work cleaning up and taking care of business and still have a life and family, time goes bye and like FEMA you lose there dumb time limits and no help gets done and where stuck with 150,000.00 in damages we didnot know we had and insurance companies don’t pay a cent and you house needs help. And local help is a joke. And your still working your ass off at 75 the system is like acronyms and IRS is a big joke for help. But somebody is happy with all that federal money and local money in their pockets at the expense of others. And a sewer system that’s lucky to handle piss let along waste and then storm water. But everyone one sure like collecting them taxes right. Well done politicians.
the VA has come a long way since I was a Marine in the 1960ts.keep up the great job and benefits you provide for all who served .
How is VA going g to offer a one time payment, if they have to do a service request and the call center agents are not aware of this directive.
All the do.is submitted a service request which can take 30 days.
Does these benifits include Guam after a typhoon? Or not. Thank You.
What a great article! Thanks for all the info !
Thank you for all the valuable information that is given out to Veterans and their families. It has been many years coming Veterans now have services that they had trouble finding in the past.
I am not clear on what the total benefits are for a VET if impacted by a Natural Disaster.
This great to know. Thanks for the informention.
Some of us do not have phone service 2 days after the storms. Hard to reach out with no service.
Very good information, I would like to continue to receive this information.
the courts have ruled that braufocrats cannot limit Doctors from writing prescriptions, so why doesn’t the VA Pain management doctor have this power ? Could it be that the vet must go out on the street to get pain pills and maybe the VA Medical centers will get lucky when the Vet Dies from a fentanyl overdose! The VA can then clear him off their books!
Where is Trump when we need him!
YES INDEED, MY FRIEND!!!
Kelley I agree!! I requested pain meds for my back and knees and the VA sent me in for a piss test. It came back positive for opioids. It wasn’t from pills. It was from kratom which is a natural leaf capsal that helps me with my pain. What is funny about this. Is that my doctor never followed up with me with an appointment.
Yup I just went through this B.S. with the V.A. pain management. All the mommies and daddies want the opium epidemic to stop so the V.A. stops giving pain meds to vets in need. S.O.B.s let vets suffer so they look good.
Meantime the real killer fentanyl is crossing the border by the tons each week ah but the V.A. looks good. I told the director of V.A. pain meds its not the drug dealers killing people. Its YOU V.A. so keep looking good we will get our pain meds off the damn street and take a chance on death. Yeah thanks for serving.
Trump said you’re a sucker and a loser. He’s only there when he needs your vote. Wake up.
What about wildfires?
the VA sent me an email about disaster relief resources. The links connected me to the veteran’s crisis line, where a person with an unhealthy fixation on suicide, attempted to help me with problems I did not need addressed. I was then given a number for the patient advocate at the hospital. I found this to be unhelpful and more than a bit frustrating. However, I have to give the VA credit for being consistent in their single minded pursuit of suicidal issues. Perhaps if the VA caused fewer suicidal thoughts it would help reduce their workload. Just a suggestion.
Well Said! Congress keeps cutting more and more from us, even though we already paid for our benefits and assistance! house leaders live in wealthy priveleged atmospheres (Nasty Pelosi lives in an $11million estate) while they keep cutting funding for our needs. This is a HUGE roblem for me!
[Editor: In fact, the administration has proposed another record budget increase. Congress has not cut funding. You can read about previous budgets and the ’25 budget request, here: https://department.va.gov/administrations-and-offices/management/budget/ ]
The GOP is in charge of Congress now not Nancy Pelosi, but they are only concerned about doing investigations. So please wake up and pay attention. Not everyone that tells you,”we support the troops and thank you for your service ” really means it.
In my opinion you should really look at your housing assistance program… I was homeless for around 2 years and I tried several times to get help with getting an apartment…. all I needed help with was help with the credit check due to my poor credit score… I was not able to get ANY help for one reason or another.. if you are going to continue advertising housing assistance then you might be required to ACTUALLY HELP a vet in their time of need
YES INDEED, MY FRIEND!!! Too many overapaid and underworked politicains and leaders! They sit on their butts, issue orders, and they never bother to follow through and review-THEY THINK THEY JUST GET PAID TO PASS THE BUCK!
Every veteran need to know this information?
You guys are a joke nothing you post works. I’ve been waiting for HUDVASH for almost 10 years!!! You can never contact everyone from this program. I’m a homeless veteran, I need help
tell me about it i can never qualify for HUDVASH because i make to much according to the VA which doesn’t make since them they transfer you to SSVF and they are just as useless.. they want you to be homeless until they get the time to help… one guy said i wasn’t the only veteran he had, and i’ve been waiting to hear from him since i swear i’ve been homeless going on like 4 yrs (no steady housing)! they have got to do better!