Disaster Recovery Center in Noble Changes Hours

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will  continue to provide application assistance to those impacted by the Aug. 3-14 wildfire in Cleveland County at the recovery center in Noble; however, the hours of operation will change beginning Friday, Oct.12.

The Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at Twelve Corners Baptist Church, 15601 E. Etowah Road will open and close one hour later to accommodate the needs of the applicants. The new hours are: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The center will officially close Saturday, Oct. 20.

To date, 132 Cleveland County residents have visited the center to register for assistance, update their information or to speak with representatives from OEM, FEMA and SBA who provided recovery information, answered questions about available programs and assisted with applications.

As of close of business Oct. 10, FEMA provided nearly $1.4 million in grants to help Cleveland County residents recover from the wildfire. Assistance is available to help with temporary housing, emergency home repairs or other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources.

Visiting a center is not required to be considered for assistance. It is provided to assist those who would like help in filling out forms, checking the status of their claim and even registering. It also provides an opportunity to speak face-to-face with representatives from OEM, FEMA, SBA and others.

There are several ways for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations to register for FEMA’s disaster assistance or check the status of a registration. They include registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov, using web-enabled phones at m.fema.gov or the FEMA app, or 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.

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 or TTY 1-800-877-8339; or visit the DRC in Noble.  For more information on SBA disaster assistance, go to www.sba.gov.

The deadline to apply for federal assistance from FEMA and the SBA is Nov. 21. Anyone receiving an SBA loan package will need to return it as soon as possible.

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

Follow OEM 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.