Disaster Recovery Center To Open Tuesday In Beaufort County
Release Date: September 22, 2003
Release Number: 1490-03
» More Information on North Carolina Hurricane Isabel
Raleigh, NC - A Disaster Recovery Center to help residents who suffered losses in Hurricane Isabel will open at the Beaufort County Department of Social Services Tuesday afternoon, state and federal disaster management officials said today. Hours of operation will be 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. beginning Wednesday. The center will be open daily until further notice.
The Beaufort County Department of Social Services is located at 632 West 5th St. in Washington.
Before visiting the center, residents must first have applied for aid by telephone. The FEMA toll-free numbers to apply for assistance are 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing or speech impaired.
Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help applicants with any questions they have about the application process as well as provide updates on the status of the individual application.
Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will also be on hand to help with disaster loan applications. The agency's disaster loan program makes available low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and business owners with disaster-related losses.
Anyone throughout the 26-county disaster declared area may visit any DRC for help. Another DRC opens Tuesday in Dare County. Additional DRCs will open in the hardest-hit areas in the coming days, officials said.
The 26 counties are Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Martin, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington.
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
For more information about hurricane preparedness and recovery and specific information about Isabel, visit the FEMA website at www.fema.gov.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 23-Sep-2003 10:36:00