Galena Disaster Recovery Center to Close Sundays

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The state and federal Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Galena has new hours of operation.

Located in the Galena Interior Learning Academy at 359 Challenger Road, the center has been operating Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Sundays.

Starting Sunday, July 28, 2013, the center will no longer operate on Sundays. It will, however, remain open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The center is staffed by disaster recovery specialists who can provide information and answer questions about flood-related assistance for individuals, households, and businesses affected by the 2013 spring floods.

Those with losses due to flooding between May 17 and June 11, 2013, in the Regional Educational Attendance Areas (REAAs) eligible for Individual Assistance are encouraged to register with FEMA by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or online at DisasterAssistance.gov. The eligible REAAs are Alaska Gateway, Lower Yukon, Yukon Flats, and Yukon-Koyukuk.

Registration by mobile device is also available at www.m.fema.gov.  Those with a speech disability or hearing loss who use TTY can call 800-462-7585 (TTY).  Multilingual registration can be done by phone.

Staff at the recovery centers can review and update applicant information and address individual questions and concerns.

Affected individuals who have not yet registered by phone or online can also register at the DRC. If you intend to register at the center, please bring:

• Your Social Security number
• Current and pre-disaster address
• Block and lot number
• A telephone number where you can be contacted
• Insurance information
• Total household annual income
• A routing and account number from your bank (only necessary if you want to have disaster assistance funds transferred directly into your bank account). Look up your bank routing number.
• A description of your losses that were caused by the disaster.

FEMA disaster assistance may include awards to help pay for housing, replace personal property and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance. Assistance may also include low-interest federal disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

SBA offers disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations for their uncompensated losses. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence. Homeowners and renters may borrow up to $40,000 to replace personal property. Businesses may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace their disaster-damaged property and/or economic losses.

There are three ways to apply for an SBA disaster loan:  After registering with FEMA, go online to SBA’s secure site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela; call 1-800-659-2955 (deaf and hard-of-hearing call 1-800-877-8339); or, visit the DRC for one-on-one service. For more information on SBA disaster assistance, go to www.sba.gov.