Disaster Recovery Officials Warn Residents to Take Safety Precautions
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Release Number: 1798-018
» More Information on Puerto Rico Severe Storms and Flooding
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Disaster recovery officials warn island residents to listen to their local emergency managers and take precautions as Tropical Storm Omar nears Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"Take steps to protect yourself and your family!" urged Federal Coordinating Officer Justo Hernandez, the top official for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Puerto Rico. "Omar will unleash a tremendous amount of rain. Do what you can now to protect your home, your business, your family and yourself."
Local emergency managers will have timely advice on the storm, where the danger is greatest, and what precautions to take, recovery officials said.
More general advice on how to prepare for storms is available on the Web at www.gobierno.pr/AEMEAD/Inicio (Spanish), www.listo.gov (Spanish), and www.ready.gov (English).
Federal, commonwealth and local officials are working closely together in preparation for the storm. Puerto Rico has activated its Emergency Operations Center and is in regular communication with local emergency managers. FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had a team of more than 300 hundred people already on the ground working on the response to the storms and flooding of September 21 through October 3. FEMA also deployed an Emergency Response Team from its New York Region II office to the U.S. Virgin Islands to monitor the situation.
Anyone with damage from the storms and flooding from September 21 through October 3 is urged to register with FEMA before coming to a recovery center. They can register by going online to www.fema.gov/spanish, or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), option 2 for Spanish, or TTY 1-800-465-7585. After registering, they can track the progress of their applications through the same Web site and/or phone numbers, or by going to a Disaster Recovery Center.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 14-Oct-2008 16:56:43