FEMA Changes Hours of Teleregistration
Release Date: February 23, 2006
Release Number: 1604-255
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BILOXI, Miss. -- After a record year of processing telephone registrations for disaster assistance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has changed its hours of operation in call centers across the U.S.
The registration lines are now open from 6 a.m. to midnight, 7 days a week.
As of Feb. 19, 2006, FEMA call centers located in Maryland, Texas and Virginia have registered more than 515,500 Mississippians for potential disaster assistance.
Since the centers opened in 1994, more than 275 major disasters have been declared, 2.5 million applications have been processed and several million calls have been taken. To date, more than 1.4 million applications have been processed for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The deadline to register for disaster assistance is March 11, 2006. Applicants may contact 1-800-621 FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing-impaired. They can also register online at www.fema.gov.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Thursday, 23-Feb-2006 16:14:55