This gave me a tiny bit of relief, at least I have an "in" with a lender.

The good news is that congress passed a spending bill,which allocates $2 billion to rent relief.

I think they hid their cash in a shoebox, just hoping that the government was going to bail them out with with some relief.

I would say that they're equally liable financially on the lease as the lease holder and in turn would receive similar accommodations when it comes to COVID reliefs given to renters during the pandemic.

And depreciation is exactly what you said - a gift and a trap.If depreciation is planned for and mitigated through series of 1031 exchanges over the years you've achieved two things - First you've received hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax relief by taking the benefit without having to pay that back. 

The extension of eviction moratoriums put a big squeeze on smaller landlords and thus far has provided no relief to them.

The successful bidder on an IRS-liened property is therefore not entitled to breathe a sigh of relief until the 121st day.”

But, one additional benefit you get from FHA loan (apart from 3.5% down, approval for low credit score) is the FHA loan relief option which will help you if you ever experience a legitimate financial hardship (such as a loss of income or increase in living expenses) or are having a hard time making your monthly mortgage payments.

If he's advocating not having a step up basis on assets at death, then we REALLY need some estate taxation relief. 

So sorry for what you experienced, investment properties are regarded differently by FEMA and while you can get legal help and also aid will be provided to your tenants you won't get disaster relief in any meaningful way for your property.