Disaster Recovery Centers in Galena and Fairbanks Transition Update

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The State/Federal Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in Galena and Fairbanks will close August 9 and transition to weekly visits to Galena and Fairbanks by FEMA caseworkers to meet the disaster-assistance needs of survivors of the 2013 Spring Floods.

Both Disaster Recovery Centers will cease operations at noon Friday, Aug. 9, 2013.

Until then, the centers will continue to provide face-to-face help from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The Galena DRC is located in the Galena Interior Learning Academy, 359 Challenger Road.

The Fairbanks DRC is located at 751 Old Richardson Hwy., Suite 202.

It is not necessary to visit a DRC to register with FEMA. Those with losses due to flooding between May 17 and June 11, 2013, in the Regional Educational Attendance Areas (REAAs) eligible for Individual Assistance can continue to register by telephone or online through Aug. 26, 2013.

The eligible REAAs are Alaska Gateway, Lower Yukon, Yukon Flats and Yukon-Koyukuk.

Those who have registered can continue to receive information and update their applications by telephone, mobile device or online.

• By telephone: call 800-621-FEMA (3362). Those with a speech disability or who are deaf or hard of hearing can call 800-462-7585 (TTY). Multilingual registration can be done by telephone.
• By mobile device: at www.m.fema.gov.
• Online: go to DisasterAssistance.gov.

Affected individuals who have not yet registered by phone or online can also register at a DRC before noon, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. Staff at the recovery centers can review and update applicant information and address individual questions and concerns.

If you intend to register at a DRC, 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 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The deadline to register for an SBA disaster loan is also Aug. 26, 2013.

SBA offers disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations for their uncompensated losses. Homeowners can receive loans up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence. Homeowners and renters can receive loans 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 (the deaf and hard of hearing can 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.