Disaster Recovery Center in Mannford to Close Friday, Sept. 21

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) encourage Creek County residents affected by the Aug. 3-14 wildfire to take advantage of the face-to-face service before the Disaster Recovery Center at 101 Green Valley Rd. in Mannford closes 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21.

The center opened Aug. 27 to serve Creek County homeowners, renters and businesses following the devastating wildfire.  Nearly 600 people have taken advantage of the center to register, receive assistance with forms, update their information and learn about mitigation measures.

The center provides one-on-one service. Individuals needing to meet personally with representatives from OEM, FEMA, and the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) have only days left to do so.

Once the center closes, residents with computers or smartphones may apply or track their status online at www.disasterassistance.gov, or web-enabled phones at m.fema.gov or the FEMA app, or if they do not have a computer, by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585. If using 711 Relay or Video Relay Services, call 1-800-621-3362. FEMA phone lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT seven days a week; multilingual operators are available.

Homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the Aug. 3-14 wildfire, can apply for an SBA disaster loan after registering with FEMA by going online to SBA’s secure site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela; calling 1-800-659-2955 or TTY 1-800-877-8339. For information on SBA disaster assistance, go to www.sba.gov.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofits for their uncompensated physical disaster losses (homes, personal property and business assets).  For small businesses and most private nonprofits, SBA disaster loans are available to cover working capital needs caused by the disaster, whether or not the business suffered physical damage.

Federal disaster assistance programs are available only for a limited time following a major disaster declaration. The deadline for all Creek County residents who suffered damages or loss to apply is Oct. 22.

For more information on Oklahoma disaster recovery, click on www.fema.gov/disaster/4078 or www.oem.ok.gov.

Follow the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook at twitter.com/okem and www.facebook.com/oklahomadepartmentofemergencymanagement. FEMA tweets about the Oklahoma disaster are at twitter.com/femaregion6. Additional FEMA online resources include blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.