This spring, DisasterAssistance.gov, the official government website dedicated to helping disaster survivors find government assistance and information, was redesigned to improve the site's navigation and provide access to results more quickly.

Using Benefits.gov prescreening technology, DisasterAssistance.gov has always offered a tailored questionnaire for those affected by a disaster and looking for disaster assistance programs. Since the redesign, citizens can now see the number of benefits, or forms of assistance, they may be eligible for calculated in real time as they answer the questions in the questionnaire. Additionally, the questionnaire now includes separate "Question" and "Results" tabs for the user to easily jump between, as well as a "Bookmarks" tab for users to "tag" a form of assistance they wish to revisit during the same session. Another new feature allows the citizen to view the number of forms of assistance by category and to filter their results by category. "Help" text has also been added next to each question to provide further detail and clarification.

In the coming months, DisasterAssistance.gov will release a "Local Resources" feature, which will allow disaster survivors to locate community resources, such as police and fire stations, urgent care and hospitals and other immediate needs services. Disaster survivors will be able to provide their zip code to receive a list of applicable community resources based on their geographic location.

If you or someone you know has been affected by a declared disaster, visit DisasterAssistance.gov to find and apply for the government programs that may help your recovery. You can also browse disaster assistance programs on Benefits.gov by visiting the Browse by Category page and clicking on "Disaster Relief." While visiting Benefits.gov, be sure to check your eligibility for over 1,000 government programs by using our prescreening tool, the Benefit Finder.