PONCE, Puerto Rico – Disaster Recovery Centers will reopen Monday in Guánica, Guayanilla and Ponce to assist Puerto Rico residents affected by the ongoing earthquakes. FEMA expects to reopen other recovery centers.
All three centers will accommodate in-person visits by appointment and drive-thru services, where residents can have their documents scanned into their case file and returned to them. No appointments are necessary for the drive-thrus. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Representatives from FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program and the Hazard Mitigation program will staff the Disaster Recovery Centers along with U.S. Small Business Administration specialists.
Recovery center locations are:
Guánica
Club Puertorriqueño de Ensenada
Calle 2
Guánica, Puerto Rico 00647
Guayanilla
Centro Comunal Magas Arriba
PR-382, Barrios Magas
Guayanilla, Puerto Rico 00656
Ponce
Complejo Polideportivo Los Caobos (Cancha de Baloncesto)
Avenida Los Caobos
Ponce, Puerto Rico 00716
To help alleviate the risk of COVID-19 spread through person-to-person contact, FEMA is reminding visitors who enter the recovery centers that they must wear a mask or face covering and maintain social distancing protocols.
Appointments are required for all who enter the Disaster Recovery Centers. Residents may call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) to schedule an appointment. Sign language and Spanish interpreters are available upon request.
Visitors will be expected to wait in their vehicles until 10 minutes before the appointments and receive “no touch” temperature screenings. Again, everyone is required to wear a mask or face covering to gain entry and service at the centers. FEMA will not provide masks to visitors but hand sanitizer will be made available to survivors and staff.
Federal staff will wear masks, face shields and gloves. Workstations will be spaced 6 feet apart to provide an extra level of protection for survivors and staff.
FEMA will ensure that common areas are cleaned regularly during the day and workstations are sanitized after each visitor.
Survivors may make appointments to visit any recovery center regardless of where they live.
The FEMA disaster application deadline is July 2, but the centers are expected to remain open until July 24.
Survivors do not need to visit a recovery center to apply or update their application but can do so in the following ways:
• Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Press 2 for a Spanish-speaking operator. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
• Visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download FEMA’s mobile app. Select Disaster Resources and click on Apply for Assistance Online. If you have an Apple device: Text APPLE to 43362 (4FEMA). For those with an Android device: Text ANDROID to 43362 (4FEMA). For more information go to: www.fema.gov/mobile-app.
For more information on Puerto Rico’s recovery from the earthquakes, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4473 and on Facebook, facebook.com/femapuertorico.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.
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) or 711 for Video Relay Service. Multilingual operators are available. (Press 2 for Spanish.) TTY call 800-462-7585.
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