[Sound of surf]
I've been down at the Westerly beach area,
and that's probably where the most
damage has occurred. 
I'm a business owner on Atlantic Avenue,
we have two small businesses there, 
and the place got devastated with sand,
equipment flipped over. I had an ice
cream shop and a coffee shop. 
A number of those homes have anywhere
from 3 to 5 feet of sand in their 
first floors. And so there is a lot
of excavating going on. 
[Sound of equipment]
Good morning sir, my name is Maribel. 
I work for FEMA. We are in the affected
area, the purpose of our visit is to see
if you have registered for FEMA assistance.
Well, we have our first Disaster Recovery
Center opening here in Westerly, Rhode Island.
Individuals who have sustained damage, 
are asked to register with FEMA, at 
800-621-3362 or come into the Disaster
Recovery Center. 
How long have you had a place down here?
Three years. And it hasn't had water in
it for 55 years, since it was built. 
It's pretty overwhelming. 
There's housing assistance that may
be available to these individuals, 
they may be eligible for other needs
assistance, a number of items
could be eligible. 
Actually, I was at the FEMA center,
people were very friendly, guided us
through the process, the various work
stations that were there, talked about
not only what we needed to do
to clean up now, but where we will be
in the future. Also, improving the area,
possibly lifting homes, that sort of 
support that exists. 
The information that people need to 
bring with them are: their social
security number, their insurance information,
a utility bill that would have their name
and address, as well as their banking 
information so that if they are eligible
for assistance, money can go directly into
their checking account, rather than having
to wait for a check to come in the mail.