Three Disaster Recovery Centers Opening Saturday 

Release Date: August 4, 2006
Release Number: 1656-004

» More Information on Ohio Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Just days after President Bush signed a new major disaster declaration for Ohio, three joint Disaster Recovery Centers are set to open at noon Saturday, Aug. 5 to help meet the ongoing needs of disaster victims and provide a single location where people are able to talk face-to-face with state and federal recovery specialists.

There are two easy ways to begin the application process before visiting one of the centers. Residents may call the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing and speech impaired. Both numbers are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week until further notice, and multilingual operators also are available to answer calls. Residents with Internet access can register on the agency's Web site at www.fema.gov where valuable recovery information also is available.

Representatives from local, state and federal agencies will staff the joint centers, operated by FEMA and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Ohio EMA). The centers will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5; noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6 and thereafter, the offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday until further notice. These are temporary offices and the information and services are available at no cost. The Mobile DRCs (listed below) are open for limited days only.

Ashtabula County - Mobile
Northwest Ambulance District (NAD)
1480 S. Broadway (SR 534), Geneva
Sat., Aug. 5 - Tues. Aug. 8 Only

DRC Lake County - Mobile DRC
Lakeland Community College East
201 Water Tower, Madison
Wed., Aug. 9 - Sat. Aug. 12 Only

Lake County
J.F.K. Senior Center
1580 East 332 nd Street , Eastlake
Sat., Aug 5 – until further notice

First Church Congregational
United Church of Christ
22 Liberty St. , Painesville
Sat., Aug 5 – until further notice

"Disaster Recovery Centers serve as one-stop locations for individuals to seek further information or for those who have questions regarding the state and federal disaster recovery process," said Nancy Dragani, Ohio EMA's executive director and state coordinating officer. "Residents may visit the center closest to their home or work."

Information provided at these centers is not only useful to those who suffered damages from this summer's storms. Any residents in the area can visit a center and find out what they can do to reduce future damages from severe storms and flooding.

"At this time in the recovery process, people are beginning to think about putting their lives back together," said Jesse Munoz, FEMA's federal coordinating officer. “Right now people want information about the status of their applications for assistance or help filling out their disaster loan application."

Recovery specialists at the centers can talk with disaster victims about:

Last Modified: Friday, 04-Aug-2006 08:52:25