Pine Ridge Disaster Recovery Center to Close

PINE RIDGE, S.D. – The last Pine Ridge Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), located at the SuAnne Big Crow Center, is closing permanently at 5 p.m., MST, on Friday, November 6, 2015.

Oglala Sioux Tribal and federal officials have been paying close attention to how many applicants have been visiting the center. Over the past weeks, the number of individuals seeking help at the Pine Ridge Disaster Recovery Center has dropped, indicating that the information needs of survivors in the area who suffered damages during the May 8-29^th event have mostly been met. 

After the center closes, disaster survivors can still call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-3362 to have questions answered about their disaster assistance registration, check their application status, or update their insurance claim or contact information. A FEMA representative is available at the toll-free number from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., MST, seven days a week.

Anyone with questions concerning a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or for information about SBA programs, go to sba.gov/disaster or call (800) 659-2955.

Survivors should complete and return their SBA loan applications as soon as possible. Filing the loan application does not obligate people to accept an SBA loan. However, failure to complete and submit the home disaster loan application may stop the FEMA grant process. Survivors who submit an SBA application and are declined a loan may be considered for other FEMA assistance. 

In addition to the Pine Ridge Disaster Recovery Center, which has been open continuously since August 15th, FEMA deployed 13 Mobile DRCs that rotated among 7 different locations across the Pine Ridge Reservation during a 60-day period.  Collectively these centers serviced more than 2500 visits by Oglala Sioux Tribal residents.

DRCs have been operated by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Office of Emergency Management and FEMA in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA Helpline. Choose Option 3 for other languages. People who have a speech disability or are deaf or hard of hearing may call (TTY) 800-462-7585.