INDIANAPOLIS (September 24, 2008 ) -- Governor Mitch Daniels said today the state will partner with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to operate three disaster assistance centers in Harrison, Jefferson and Jennings counties beginning Wednesday.
The sites will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time and will offer services from FEMA, the Department of Workforce Development, Department of Insurance and the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
In northwestern Indiana, the six assistance centers that have been providing services since last week will be open for their final days Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. This includes distribution of emergency food stamps.
Each of the three new locations in southern Indiana is at an existing FSSA office. The locations are:
Harrison County
2201 Concord Avenue, Suite 120
Corydon
Jefferson County
493 West Hutchinson Lane, Suite A
Madison
Jennings County
1171 North State Street
North Vernon
The governor also has asked the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to allow emergency food stamp distribution for victims in the three counties. The state has not received a response as of Monday afternoon, but if approval is granted, emergency food stamps will be provided at the same locations for seven days. Disaster food stamps are for citizens impacted by the recent flooding. Individuals will be required to show identification and sign an affidavit indicating they have suffered damage from the severe weather.
The governor was notified Friday that President George W. Bush declared that a major disaster exists for Harrison, Jefferson and Jennings counties and approved federal individual assistance for affected residents as a result of severe weather that began on September 12 because of the remnants of Hurricane Ike.
Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties received approval for federal individual assistance on September 23. Additional counties may also be added as part of the major disaster determination as damage assessments are completed. They include Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Floyd, Jasper, Martin, Newton, Perry, Scott, Spencer and Switzerland.
All centers will have representatives from FEMA, and computers and phones will be available for flood victims to complete (FEMA) applications. It is not necessary to come to a disaster center to fill out a FEMA application. Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the three counties can register online at https://exchweb.in.gov/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.fema.gov/assistance or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.
FEMA assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
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