Northwest Iowa — FEMA is opening a Disaster Recovery Center this Tuesday, July 2 at 1 p.m. in Spencer, Iowa to provide one-on-one assistance for people affected by the recent flooding and storms.
FEMA will be opening another Disaster Recovery Center this Wednesday, July 3 at 1 p.m. in Rock Valley.
Recovery specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration tell us they will provide information on available services, explain disaster assistance programs, and help people complete or check the status of applications for federal assistance.
The Spencer center will be in the Clay County Regional Events Center on the Clay County Fairgrounds. They’ll be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. this Tuesday, July 2, and then 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, until further notice.
The Rock Valley center will be in the Rock Valley City Park Shelter House at 1013 13th Avenue.
They’ll be open this Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and then 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, until further notice.
Both the Rock Valley and Spencer recovery centers will be open on the 4th of July holiday. More locations will open soon in northwest Iowa.
FEMA officials tell us they can provide money to eligible homeowners and renters for help with serious needs, paying for a temporary place to live, home repairs and other needs not covered by insurance.
To save time, they ask you to apply with FEMA online or by phone before visiting a Disaster Recovery Center, if possible.
How to Apply with FEMA
- Visit DisasterAssistance.gov
- Call FEMA directly at 800-621-FEMA (3362)
- Download and use the FEMA app
- Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages).
- Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. For an accessible video on three ways to apply for FEMA assistance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI
Disaster Recovery Centers are physically accessible to people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. They are equipped with assistive and adaptive technology such as amplified phones, caption phones, video phones, wheelchair ramps and other resources to help ensure all applicants can access resources.
Meanwhile:
The U.S. Small Business Administration and Iowa Small Business Development Center tells us they have opened an SBA Business Recovery Center in Sioux Center to provide a wide range of services to businesses impacted by severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes that began June 16. .
Francisco Sánchez, Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration says, “Due to the severe property damage and economic losses inflicted on Iowa businesses, we want to provide every available service to help get them back on their feet. The center will provide a one-stop location for businesses to access a variety of specialized help. SBA customer service representatives will be available to meet individually with each business owner,” he added. No appointment is necessary. All services are provided free of charge.
The Sioux County Business Recovery Center is in the Sioux Center Centre Mall. They’ll be there Mondays – Fridays from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. The Small Business Recovery Center will be closed on Thursday, July 4 for Independence Day.
