Disaster Recovery Centers Now Open
As Pennsylvanians rebuild from the recent flooding disaster, seven Disaster Recovery Centers have opened in some of the hardest hit areas of the state. “We are going to have our agencies right in there in these centers, to use it as one-stop shopping as much as we can,” Governor Tom Corbett explained on Radio PA’s monthly Ask the Governor program.
15-state agencies will be working alongside FEMA Individual Assistance Specialists at the DRCs. “People can go in and say I lost my driver’s license, I need assistance, I need to sign up, or whatever,” Corbett says. “Under federal regulation, an individual can get up to $30,200, because of this storm, if they have the damage.” Documentation of that damage is critical. “If people are listening to this, and they have damage, and they haven’t taken photographs, take the photographs,” Corbett recommends.
The Susquehanna River overtook parts of Bloomsburg, Columbia County. Now, area residents can visit a Disaster Recovery Center at the Columbia County Agricultural Center on Sawmill Rd.
The governor says the federal government has been responsive in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee. “I was in Shanksville with the President when he came in on Sunday,” Corbett explains, “We talked to him, I talked to his chief of staff, and was assured that we’d get the assistance as soon as everything was there, and we got the material to them very quickly.”
Governor Corbett says PEMA and FEMA have been working together closely since Hurricane Irene hit before Labor Day. It was the remnants President Barack Obama has issued two disaster declarations for this latest round of flooding. One makes federal aid available to individuals, the other to local and state governments, as recovery efforts continue.
Anyone planning on stopping by a Disaster Recovery Center should first register with FEMA, online. The DRCs are open in Bloomsburg, DuShore, Harrisburg, Montoursville, Nanticoke, Towanda and Tunkhannock. Check the addresses below for the disaster center nearest you:
Wyoming County Tunkannock Area School District Administration Office 41 Philadelphia Avenue Tunkhannock, PA 18657 Bradford County Towanda Fire Department 101 Elm St., Towanda PA 18848 Luzerne County Community College 1334 South Prospect Street Nanticoke, PA 18634 Dauphin County Harrisburg East Mall 3501 Paxton Street Harrisburg, PA 17111 Lycoming County 740 Fairfield Road Montoursville, PA 17754 Columbia County Agricultural Center 702 Sawmill Road Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Sullivan County at Loyalsock State Forest District Office 6735 RT. 220 Dushore, PA 18626
