Some disaster recovery centers in Eastern North Carolina continue to see a high volume of people seeking assistance while other centers are shutting down due to low numbers. Last week, state officials and FEMA decided to permanently close the disaster recovery centers in Beaufort and Hyde counties. Another center in Lenoir County, which received about 360 visits since it opened, will be shutting down Wednesday at 6pm. The disaster recovery center in Newport will close Friday. However, in areas hardest hit by Hurricane Florence, like Craven and Jones counties, more than 4,000 people combined have visited the disaster recovery centers.
“People are still registering for assistance,” said Angela Byrd, FEMA media relations specialist. “People definitely have questions about maybe denial letters that they may have received. Or a determination letter that they may have received.”
The deadline to register with FEMA for Hurricane Florence disaster assistance is November 13th. So far, Byrd said more than $648 million in federal funding has been approved for people recovering from Hurricane Florence in North Carolina.
“For damage and needs, not covered by insurance, FEMA has provided $107 million to about 30,000 households. This is for temporary rental assistance, basic home repairs and other needs such as replacing personal property.”
Disaster recovery centers are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday. Individuals and business owners can also register with FEMA for disater assistance onlineor by calling 800-621-3362.
