ATLANTA — Free legal assistance is available to victims of disasters, according to a FEMA press release.

Individuals who are interested in receiving this assistance can call the toll-free legal hotline at 1-866-584-8027 or 404-527-8793. The hotline accepts calls 24-hours a day, but people may be prompted to leave a message and a specialist will contact them as soon as possible. When calling, people need to identify which storm caused damage to their home or personal property, what storm-related issue they need legal assistance with and the county where the storm-damaged property is located.

This is a great resource for those who are in need of help beyond their means that involves legal power to aid them, FEMA said.

People do not need to apply for FEMA assistance to receive disaster legal services.

Other FEMA assistance is available following Hurricane Helene; 63 counties were presidentially declared for individual assistance from the Sept. 24-27 storm. The deadline to apply for such help is Feb. 7.

You can apply online at: disasterassistance.gov; calling the toll-free number at 1-800-621-3362; or downloading the FEMA app on Android and or Apple. The other option is in-person at any Disaster Recovery Center and one can find the DRCs’ hours and locations on “Fema.gov/drc.”