Hidalgo DRC Transitions to Loan Center; Two Others to Close

AUSTIN, Texas—The Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), operated by the State of Texas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at the Porter P. Doss Memorial Library in Hidalgo County will transition to a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) beginning Monday, Feb. 1.

The new DLOC will be located at the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center (next door to City Hall), 275 S. Kansas Ave., Weslaco, TX 78596. The DLOC will open for business at 8 a.m., Feb. 1. Its hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday.

The Hidalgo County DRC at the Doss Memorial Library, 515 S. Kansas Ave., Weslaco, TX 78569, will remain open until 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29.

Both the Cameron County DRC at the Bob Clark Social Service Center, 9901 California Road, Brownsville, TX 78521, and the Willacy County DRC at the Willacy County EMS, 693 S. 7^th St., Raymondville, TX 78580, will close at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29.

Representatives from the SBA will be available at the DLOC to meet individually with residents and business owners who sustained damage as a result of the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding from Oct. 22 to Oct. 31. Representatives will answer questions, explain SBA’s disaster loan program, help complete loan applications and close approved disaster loans.

State/FEMA DRCs remain open until the needs of area residents have been met. The centers serve as one-stop shops for information and guidance about disaster assistance.

Texas homeowners and renters who have registered for disaster assistance with FEMA are encouraged by recovery officials to “stay in touch.” If applicants change their address or phone numbers they should update that information with FEMA. Missing or erroneous information could result in delays getting a home inspection or in receiving assistance.

To learn more about the Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4245, or call the FEMA Helpline (voice, 711 or relay service) at 800-621-3362. (TTY users should call 800-462-7585.) The toll-free lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Information is also available on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

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All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

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. 

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover 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. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.