Dededo, Guam -- Federal disaster assistance continues to flow to Rota residents and businesses affected by Typhoon Pongsona. Total assistance has topped the $6.8 million mark.

RECOVERY OPERATIONS

• Housing Assistance: Approximately $1 million in housing assistance, such as rental or home repair, has been approved.
  
  
• Other Needs Assistance: More than $1.5 million has been approved for personal property, transportation or other miscellaneous items not covered by insurance or other assistance programs.
  
  
• U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA): Nearly $4.2 million in low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes has been approved. SBA loan application forms are available at the Disaster Recovery Center. SBA will not mail applications.
  
  
• Public Assistance: The first two Project Worksheets totaling $3,600 have been approved for public assistance funding.
  
  
• Registrations: A total of 730 applications have been received.
  
  
• The Rota Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), located in the Northern Mariana College Public Library Complex, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. To date, 959 people have visited the Center to follow up on their application and meet with other federal or Commonwealth representatives.
  
  
• Monday, February 24 is the last day FEMA will accept disaster assistance applications from residents and business owners, who sustained damage from Typhoon Pongsona. .
  
  
• FEMA Home Inspections: A total of 655 home inspections have been completed with four inspections pending.
  
  
• To Register for Disaster Assistance: Individuals and business owners who suffered losses or damages during Typhoon Pongsona are encouraged to register by calling FEMA's toll-free number at 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing- impaired. People can call those phone numbers daily between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
  
  
• People who have already registered with FEMA but need to update their information or who have questions about the status of their application, should call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing- impaired daily 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
  
  
• The multilingual Helpline operates Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is available to all those who speak Chamorro, Tagalog, Spanish, Cantonese, and Chuukese as their first language. You can call 1-866-550-4211.