FEMA Teams Visiting Arkansas Communities to Link Residents with Resources for Recovery

NORTH LITTLE ROCK – The residents of 11 Arkansas counties included in a federal disaster declaration may see FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams in their communities, offering a personal link to the resources for recovery.

Using the latest mobile technology, DSA team members are there to help survivors register for disaster assistance; provide up-to-date information on applications; help determine ongoing needs; and make referrals to help fill any outstanding needs.

The DSA teams are there in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and local officials. DSA team members wear FEMA attire and carry FEMA photo IDs. If the photo ID is not displayed, ask to see it. This helps prevent fraud.

The DSA teams may request the following information:

•    A phone number where you can be reached;

•    Your social security number;

•    Your current mailing address;

•    The address of the affected property;

•    A brief description of the damages; and

•    Insurance information including your policy number.

DSA teams will visit Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Faulkner, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, Little River, Perry, Sebastian and Sevier counties to meet with residents who suffered damage from the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding Dec. 26, 2015 – January 22, 2016.

Registering for assistance with FEMA is an important first step toward recovering.  Registration is available online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA).

Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (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 until further notice.  

Multilingual operators are available. Reasonable accomodations, including assistive technologies, may also be available by calling the 800 number, or by making a request with a DSA team member.

Disaster assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.    

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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.