Franklin and Jefferson County Centers Open to Help Missouri Flood Survivors

JEFERSON CITY, Mo. – FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers are opening Friday in Franklin County and Saturday in Jefferson County. The centers offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in any of the 33 Missouri counties included in the January 21, 2016, Missouri federal disaster declaration. The declaration covers losses caused by flooding and severe storms between December 23, 2015, and January 9, 2016.

Those counties are: Barry, Barton, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maries, McDonald, Morgan, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Scott, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Taney, Texas, Webster and Wright.

The Franklin County center opening Friday is in the Tri-County Senior Center, 800 West Union Street, Pacific, MO 63069.

The Jefferson County center opening Saturday is located in the Arnold City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Blvd., Arnold MO 63010.

Regular hours at both centers are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday until further notice. The centers will also be open Sunday, January 31, but will not be open on other Sundays.

Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and other agencies will be at the centers to discuss aid and assist anyone who needs help with an application.

There are two main types of federal disaster assistance. FEMA provides grants to qualified individuals for rental assistance, home repairs, or other serious disaster-related losses. SBA makes low-interest disaster loans to help homeowners and businesses rebuild and recover.

Individuals and businesses are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting a disaster recovery center. Register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling toll-free 800-621-FEMA (3362), 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual registration assistance is available.

Disaster assistance applicants who are hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use TTY should call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), should call 800-621-3362.

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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.  Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion7.