Gov. Mike Braun has directed the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to lead the state’s recovery effort, moving displaced Hoosiers from hotel vouchers into long-term housing following August’s historic flooding.

IDHS is advancing a housing strategy focused on helping storm survivors transition into appropriate sheltering and long-term living situations.

“We have engaged with a disaster services contractor, Tidal Basin,” IDHS Executive Director Jonathan Whitham said during a Tuesday storm recovery update. “That is the group that has already begun to start reaching out to survivors for those individual household case-by-case conversations.”

The state will prioritize available housing resources, including FEMA Rental Assistance, to help families move into stable housing. Hoosiers who cannot live in their damaged homes can receive rental assistance from FEMA for up to 18 months while repairs are made.

State leaders emphasized that storm survivors can receive assistance even without flood insurance.

“If you have uninsured losses or you don’t have flood insurance, please register with FEMA,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Darryl Dragoo.

According to Dragoo, federal aid has already reached thousands of affected Hoosiers.

“We’ve already seen more than 60,000 survivors apply for assistance,” Dragoo said. “We’ve been able to deliver more than $142 million in assistance.”

The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is October 25.

For FEMA Individual Assistance, apply online at disasterassistance.gov or call 800-621-3362. For the State Disaster Relief Fund, contact Indiana 211 for help filling out an application.