Bridgeport Disaster Recovery Center to Close Saturday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m.

WINDSOR, Conn. — The FEMA-state Disaster Recovery Center at the Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, will close at 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 15.

When the center closes, FEMA will still be only a mouse-click or a phone call away. Disaster survivors may also go to any other Disaster Recovery Center. For an updated list of DRCs, go to http://go.usa.gov/g2Td on the Web or text the letters DRC and your ZIP code to the number 43362.

Homeowners, business owners and renters who had damage from Hurricane Sandy in one of the Connecticut counties designated for Individual Assistance have until Dec. 31 to register for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Survivors can register online anytime day or night at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or with a smartphone or other Web-enabled device at m.fema.gov. Survivors can also register or ask questions by phone anytime by calling FEMA at 800-621-3362. The TTY number is 800-462-7585. Multilingual operators are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Wait for the English message to finish to reach multilingual operators.

Registering for disaster assistance with other agencies or organizations does not register survivors for FEMA disaster assistance. Having FEMA flood insurance does not register policyholders for disaster assistance; flood insurance claims are handled separately.

If an applicant receives an application for a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration as part of their registration package from FEMA, it is important this application be completed and returned.  No survivor is required to take out an SBA loan, but completion of the SBA application may make the applicant eligible for further FEMA assistance.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362. For TTY, call 800-462-7585.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private, nonprofit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and covers the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.