DES MOINES, Ia. – Iowans in Woodbury and Monona counties who have been impacted by the recent severe storms and flooding now can visit a Disaster Recovery Center opening Saturday (April 6) in Woodbury County to learn more about disaster assistance.
State/federal Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are one-stop information centers that provide a place for homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained damage from the severe storms and flooding beginning March 12 to get critical disaster recovery information in a face-to-face setting.
Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and other state and federal agencies are on hand to explain assistance programs, provide information about available services, help survivors register for federal disaster assistance and/or check the status of their disaster aid applications.
Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., CDT, Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. CDT on Sunday until further notice. The DRC will be closed for Easter Sunday.
The DRC is located at:
Western Iowa Tech Community College
Security Institute Suite (building labeled TSI)
4647 Stone Avenue Sioux City, IA 51106
One-on-one assistance includes:
- Help to register for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program;
- Help completing paperwork and checking the status of your application;
- Help applying for the SBA’s low-interest disaster loans for businesses, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters;
- Referrals to other state, federal and voluntary organizations offering information about additional disaster assistance;
- Help understanding how to appeal FEMA eligibility decisions;
- Accommodations to meet the needs of the entire community including people with access and functional needs. Centers are equipped with video remote interpreting and assistive listening devices.
If you need an accommodation or assistance due to a special need, please notify FEMA staff at the time of registration or anytime during the assistance process.
Those applying for assistance at a DRC should have the following information on hand:
- Social Security number
- Address of the damaged primary residence
- Description of the damage
- Information about insurance coverage
- A current contact telephone number
- An address where they can receive mail
- Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds
Many of the services available at Disaster Recovery Centers also are available by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362, voice/VP/711. Multilingual operators are available. TTY users may call 800-462-7585. Lines are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.
SBA disaster assistance employees are committed to helping businesses and residents rebuild as quickly as possible. SBA representatives are available to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program and help business owners and residents apply for low-interest disaster recovery loans.
Businesses and residents can visit www.SBA.gov/disaster, call SBA’s Customer Service Center at
800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. TTY users may also call 800-877-8339.
For more information on the Iowa disaster and a variety of recovery resource, log on to: www.floods2019.iowa.gov.
To find the DRC closest to you, go to www.fema.gov/drc.