The FEMA Disaster Tool enables users to quickly check disaster declarations in the area around a loan’s subject property. It pulls data directly from FEMA’s website using the Encompass® and FEMA APIs, showing any declared disasters from the past 12 months (from the declaration date).

This tool supports both manual searches and automated workflows, helping organizations stay informed and compliant.


Benefits

  • Fast, reliable disaster verification
  • Automation and efficiency gains
  • Strong Audit and review controls
  • Admin-friendly configuration

 

Activation

To turn this tool on:

1. Log in to Encompass® as a Super Admin.

2. Open LTK PowerTools™ from the Encompass® menu and click Settings.

3. Go to the PowerTools™ Free tab.

4. Turn on the FEMA Disaster Tool - API by clicking On.

Note: After activation of the Tool, be sure to wait for the prompt stating that the download is complete prior to continuing.

5. Ensure a license number populated and restart Encompass®.

Important: Turning the tool on will install the input form.  However, the lookups will not function until the API Client ID is created and an API user is added to the Encompass® instance.

 

How to Use the Tool

Manual Search

  1. Open the form: LTK – FEMA Disaster Tool – API.
  2. Click Update From FEMA to search for disasters based on the subject property’s location.

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Automated Search

Admins can automate searches using a custom field trigger rule. By default, the custom field to trigger the automation is [CX.FEMA.TRIGGER.API]. When this field is set to “X”, the tool automatically runs a search using census data.

 

Important Note:

Regardless of whether the search is manual or automated, the loan must be saved and closed for the search to begin. This is because the current version of the Encompass® API can only update data fields while the loan is closed. There may be a short delay (up to 5 minutes) after closing the loan while the API gains exclusive access and completes the update.


This requirement is expected to be removed in a future Encompass® API update.

 

Search Results

The tool will return up to 5 disasters, each shown in its own tab, and display the following:

  • Disaster Code – Only designations of DR will be returned
  • Disaster Title and Type
  • Incident Start/End Dates
  • Declaration Date
  • Assistance availability

Users can add internal comments and mark each disaster as reviewed or approved using custom fields.

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Tracking and Review Tools

For each disaster, the tool provides custom fields to help with internal review:

  1. [CX.FEMA.DISASTER.DEC.OR.x] – Checkbox to mark override approval
  2. [CX.FEMA.DISASTER.RES.DATE.x] – Date of review
  3. [CX.FEMA.DISASTER.COMMENTS.x] – Notes or comments

This allows managers or reviewers to confirm disaster impact before the loan moves forward.


eFolder Integration

The tool can automatically generate a PDF report of the search results and save it to the eFolder.

 

Settings

On the LTK – FEMA Disaster Tool – API form, click the Gear icon (visible only to Super Admins) to open settings.

  1. This is the eFolder destination for the PDF report.
  2. This is the custom field used to trigger automated searches.

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These fields cannot be edited at this time.

The default value of these fields are “FEMA Disaster API” and [CX.FEMA.TRIGGER.API].  Automation can be created through Field Trigger Business Rules using advanced code to set the trigger field to “X”.

 

Admin Setup – API User

Please note that the API versions of our PowerTools™ require an API user to be created in each instance where the PowerTools™ are installed. Lender Toolkit can submit a request to ICE to generate the Client ID and secret key pair.  If credentials have not yet been obtained, use the link below to request credentials.

Request API Credentials for PowerTools and Automations

 

Installed Components

  • Custom Form: LTK – FEMA Disaster Tool – API
  • Codebase Assemblies: None
  • Custom Data Objects: None
  • Plugins: LTK-FEMAPlugin.dll

Custom Fields Created

The link below contains a list of custom fields that are used in the FEMA Disaster Search.

FEMA - Custom Fields.xlsx