Disaster Recovery Centers Open in St Mary and Iberville Parishes

BATON ROUGE, La. —  State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers have opened in St. Mary and Iberville parishes to assist homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained damage to their home or personal property as a result of Hurricane Isaac.

Specialists from the state of Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors.

In Iberville Parish, the center is located at:

            St. Gabriel Community Center

Manchac Room

1400 Gordon Simon Leblanc St.

St. Gabriel, LA 70706

In St. Mary Parish:

            Morgan City Municipal Auditorium

  728 Myrtle St.

Morgan City, LA  70380

Hours for both centers are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice.

This brings to 27 the number of centers operating in 18 parishes. More recovery centers will open as sites are identified and approved. For a list of open centers in Louisiana go online to www.fema.gov/disaster/4080.

Applying for disaster assistance is quick and simple. Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 1-800-621-3362 or (TTY)    1-800-462-7585.  If you use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

SBA offers federal low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses. After registering with FEMA, visit any Disaster Recovery Center where SBA representatives will answer questions, explain the application process and help each resident or business owner apply to SBA. For SBA information or to apply online, visit www.sba.gov or call 1-800-659-2955. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call 1-800-877-8339.

The major disaster declaration for Hurricane Isaac now makes available federal assistance to eligible survivors in 21 parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington and West Feliciana.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit online at www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

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.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of funding for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).