Disaster Recovery Center Closes After Serving 5,000 Visitors
Release Date: February 23, 2009
Release Number: 1791-433
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AUSTIN, Texas -- The FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center in Jefferson County, which had almost 5,000 visits from local homeowners, renters and business owners affected by Hurricane Ike, is closing Feb. 27, after more than four months of operation.
"The Jefferson County disaster recovery center has played a critical role in providing face-to-face assistance to help thousands of area residents move forward in their recovery from the disaster," said Brad Harris, federal coordinating officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Texas. "Although this center is closing, FEMA remains here in Texas, devoting itself to helping Texans recover from Hurricane Ike."
The disaster recovery center, which opened Oct. 19, is located at the former postal office encoding center at 750 Pearl St. in Beaumont. The center will be open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
"We urge area residents to visit the recovery center before it's closing to check on the progress of their applications, or if they have any other concerns," said State Coordinating Officer Joan Haun.
Residents also can follow up on their applications by going online to www.fema.gov, or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- and hearing-impaired. Both numbers are available 6 a.m. to midnight daily. A listing of recovery centers is available at www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/pages/dr1791_drc_list.htm.
FEMA leads and supports the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation, to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the nation from all hazards including natural disasters, acts of terrorism and man-made disasters.
Last Modified: Monday, 23-Feb-2009 12:17:23