Two Disaster Recovery Centers to Open in Wharton County for Texas Flood Survivors
AUSTIN, Texas – August 3, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Two State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) will open on Monday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 6, at noon in Wharton County for homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained damage as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding from May 4 to June 22.
Specialists from the State of Texas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), nongovernmental organizations and the local community are on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors. Services are provided in English and Spanish.
The recovery center serves survivors from any of the 47 counties designated for Individual Assistance who need one-on-one help. State and federal professionals will be available to assist eligible survivors to get help as quickly as possible.
Locations, dates and hours of operation:
El Campo Civic Center
2450 North Mechanic St.
El Campo, TX 77437
Monday, Aug. 3, noon to 6 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 4-5 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
City of Wharton Civic Center
1924 North Fulton St.
Wharton, TX 77488
Thursday, Aug. 6, noon to 6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7-8 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
People who had storm damage can register for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362 toll-free from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice. Multilingual operators are available. Registration deadline is Aug. 27.
Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
Visiting with a recovery specialist is not a requirement for survivors who want disaster assistance, but the centers are an excellent way for people to get answers to their questions about disaster aid and help applying for it. Some of the services may include:
- Guidance regarding disaster recovery
- Clarification of any written correspondence received
- Housing Assistance and Rental Resources information
- Answers to questions, resolutions to problems and referrals to agencies that may provide further assistance
- Status of applications being processed by FEMA
Assistance for eligible survivors can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and for other serious disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses or funeral and burial costs. Low-interest disaster loans from SBA may be available to cover losses not fully
compensated by insurance or other resources and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.
Eligible survivors should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but under-insured applicants may receive help after their insurance claims have been settled.
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program has a call center to answer Texas policyholders’ flood insurance questions. Specialists can help with servicing claims, providing general information and offering technical assistance to aid in recovery. To speak with a flood insurance specialist, call800-621-3362 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
For more information on Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4223. Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.
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All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice (at) sba (dot) gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.
FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for childcare, medical, dental expenses and/or funeral expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, those who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, transportation, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.
Visit www.fema.gov/texas-disaster-mitigation for publications and reference material on rebuilding and repairing safer and stronger.
