Orange County Disaster Recovery Center Closing But FEMA Is Just A Phone Call Away
Release Date: April 29, 2005
Release Number: 1539-440
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- The need for face-to-face disaster assistance for last year’s hurricane victims has declined, and as the number of visitors dwindle, Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) will close.
The centers, set up by officials of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Florida’s State Emergency Response Team (SERT), are located around the hardest-hit areas of the state, and provide program and service information.
As a result of the declining requests, the DRC located at the Nicor Building in Orlando will close permanently at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Thursday, May 5.
Although the deadline to apply for disaster aid has passed, officials encourage storm victims who have questions about the various assistance programs to visit the DRC before it closes. Applicants also may visit the DRC to check on the status of their applications. Program specialists will continue to be available weekdays now through next Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
To date, the Nicor DRC, at 1602 N. Goldenrod Road, has assisted more than 20,896 storm victims since opening on Aug. 22 of last year. Statewide, more than 587,447 Floridians have been helped at one of the 150 DRC locations.
Residents may continue to have their questions answered by calling the FEMA Helpline, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Monday through Friday. The hearing or speech-impaired should call TTY 1-800-462-7585. Applicants may also visit one of the centers that will remain open as long as there is a need for face-to-face assistance.
Listings of the DRCs that will remain open are below.
Charlotte County
Dion Building DRC
4356 Tamiami Trail
Port Charlotte, FL 33980Escambia County
Area Field Office (AFO) DRC
33 Brent Lane
Pensacola, FL 32503Polk County
Eagle Ridge Mall DRC
451 Eagle Ridge Drive, Unit 308
Lake Wales, FL 33853
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Friday, 29-Apr-2005 14:05:05