ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — More than 78,500 visits have been logged at FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers in Western North Carolina since October, federal officials said.
Those centers will cease to exist at 2 p.m. March 29, FEMA officials said in a news release Wednesday. They will transition to locally operated resource centers on March 31.
The centers will operate Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and FEMA will have specialists to help people apply for FEMA assistance and update their application status, the news release said. The U.S. Small Business Administration will also have specialists to help people apply for disaster loans. The centers will be state and federally supported.
After Tropical Storm Helene, FEMA, North Carolina Emergency Management and SBA coordinated with local communities to open 33 centers where residents could meet face to face with specialists to get help with FEMA assistance, SBA disaster loans and state recovery resources.
This week, to find the nearest Disaster Recovery Center visit fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a ZIP code to 43362. It is not necessary to visit a center to apply for FEMA assistance: Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov, use the FEMA App or call 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service, captioned telephone service or other, give FEMA your number for that service.