Make Sure FEMA Can Contact You 

Release Date: October 27, 2005
Release Number: 1603-122

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Residents of Louisiana who have registered for assistance with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are reminded to update their contact information whenever it changes.

It is important for residents registered for disaster aid with FEMA to check their application status regularly and ensure their address and phone numbers remain current in the system. If contact information is out of date, inspectors and other federal and state disaster-recovery officials may not be able to contact disaster victims.

It is urgent for residents who have registered for disaster assistance to provide FEMA with their most current mailing address. People who have moved and not updated their contact information, may not receive important correspondence, calls about temporary housing and other disaster assistance. For this reason, state and federal officials urge disaster applicants to stay in touch and to update their contact information immediately should they move or change telephone numbers.

Call the FEMA Helpline, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or log on to www.fema.gov to update contact details. The TTY number is 1 800 462 7585 for people who are speech- or hearing-impaired. The Helpline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. People without telephones or Internet access can use these services at any of the Disaster Recovery Centers located across the state.

All disaster victims registered for assistance with FEMA are urged to update their mailing address with the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777, or visit online at www.usps.com. Change of address forms are also available at any Post Office.

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: Thursday, 27-Oct-2005 22:50:22