State, FEMA Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Fairbanks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A state and federal Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is set to open Tuesday, July 16, in Fairbanks to assist individuals, households and businesses affected by the 2013 spring floods.

The center is located at 751 Old Richardson Hwy., Suite 202, Fairbanks, AK 99701. The center provides face-to-face help from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week until further notice.

The center is staffed by disaster recovery specialists who can provide information and answer questions about flood-related assistance.

Those with 2013 spring flooding losses in the Alaska Gateway Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA), Lower Yukon REAA, Yukon Flats REAA, and the Yukon-Koyukuk REAA are encouraged to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or online at DisasterAssistance.gov. Registration by mobile device is also available at www.m.fema.gov. Those with a speech disability or hearing loss who use TTY can call 800-462-7585 (TTY).  Multilingual registration can be done by phone.

Staff at the recovery centers can review and update applicant information and address individual questions and concerns.

Those individuals unable to register by phone or online may register at the DRC. If you intend to register at the DRC, please bring:

• Your Social Security number
• Current and pre-disaster address
• Block and lot number
• A telephone number where you can be contacted
• Insurance information

Total household annual income

• A routing and account number from your bank (only necessary if you want to have disaster assistance funds transferred directly into your bank account). Lookup your bank routing number.
• A description of your losses that were caused by the disaster.

FEMA disaster assistance may include grants to help pay for housing, replace personal property and reimburse medical, storage and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or charities. Assistance may also include low-interest federal disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

SBA offers disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations for their uncompensated losses. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence. Homeowners and renters may borrow up to $40,000 to replace personal property. Businesses may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace their property damage and/or economic losses.

There are three ways 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 (deaf and hard-of-hearing call 1-800-877-8339); or, visit the Disaster Recovery Center for one-on-one service. For more information on SBA disaster assistance, go to www.sba.gov.