The Cheapest Hurricane Legal Assistance You'll Find

-AUSTIN, Texas -Texas residents who were impacted by Hurricane Ike can make use of free legal assistance and counseling.

The Disaster Legal Services hotline is 1-800-504-7030. Through the number, volunteer lawyers can help low-income hurricane victims with legal issues related to the hurricane. Volunteer lawyers can discuss insurance claims, landlord-tenant issues, consumer protection issues and the replacement of wills and other important documents that were lost or destroyed.

Callers should be prepared to discuss particular legal problems caused by the disaster and to provide a current contact phone number. To be eligible for this free legal assistance, they must reside in one of the 29 counties designated for Individual Assistance under the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Ike. 

Disaster Legal Services is a federally funded program run under an agreement between the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Volunteer attorneys are also available at most FEMA-State Disaster Recovery Centers operating throughout affected counties. Additional resources to assist those impacted by Hurricane Ike and other disasters are available at www.TexasBar.com and www.TexasLawHelp.org.

Texas counties designated for Individual Assistance as a result of Hurricane Ike are Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller and Washington.

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FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.