PALM COAST, Fla. – FEMA is opening a “Disaster Recovery Center” at the Palm Coast Branch Library to help Flagler County residents affected by Hurricane Matthew.
“This is great news,” Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey said. “We have had a call-in center open and a virtual assistance center online, but representatives from FEMA will be better able to answer specific questions about the federal processes and get Flagler residents the assistance they need.”
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The Disaster Recovery Center is FEMA’s outreach office, and it will be housed inside the Palm Coast Branch Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy Northwest, in the same location where the Flagler County Assistance Center was set up. It was able to get computers up and running Wednesday and has already seen a few residents and will continue to through 6 p.m. as a soft opening.
The Disaster Recover Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday -- closed Sunday.
“The library will be busy but it is not expected to impact early voting or other library programs happening in other areas of the building,” said Library Director Holly Albanese. “The library is a good central location so it makes sense for the community to have the center here.”
Representatives from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be on hand to answer questions about disaster assistance and low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses.
Additionally, they will help residents apply for federal disaster assistance.
FEMA services include: guidance regarding disaster recovery; clarification of any written correspondence received; housing assistance and rental resource information; answers to questions, problem resolution and referrals to agencies that may provide further assistance; status of applications being processed by FEMA; crisis counseling; disaster legal services; and, disaster unemployment.
More info from FEMA
Downloading the FEMA App (available in English and Spanish) to their mobile device will allow survivors to:
- Apply for disaster assistance
- Get directions to the nearest Disaster Recovery Center
- Get weather alerts
- Subscribe to disaster safety tips
Many services available at disaster recovery centers are also available by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Survivors with questions regarding the application or the appeals process, or who need to register for assistance, may visit online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by phone (voice, 711 or video relay service/VRS) at 800-621-3362. (TTY users should call 800-462-7585.) The toll-free lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available, (for Spanish press 2).
Survivors requiring a reasonable accommodation (ASL interpreting, Braille Large Print, etc.) while visiting a disaster recovery center may call the appropriate Helpline number above to receive support.
FEMA encourages survivors to register as soon as possible. Those who may have registered with their county emergency management office, the American Red Cross or other community organizations are reminded to also register with FEMA. If you pre-registered with FEMA before the presidential disaster declaration for Hurricane Matthew, there is no need to register again. However, you should call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (voice, 711 or video relay service/VRS) TTY users can call 800-462-7585 to update your information.
Disaster assistance may include grants to help homeowners and renters pay for temporary housing, essential home repairs, personal property replacement, and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.
SBA offers low-interest disaster loans for businesses of all sizes, homeowners, renters, and certain private non-profit organizations. SBA disaster loans may cover repairs, rebuilding, as well as the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged real estate and personal property.
For more information about SBA loans, call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit http://www.sba.gov/disaster. TTY users may call 800-877-8339. Applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
For more information on Florida’s disaster recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4283, https://twitter.com/femaregion4, facebook.com/FEMA, and fema.gov/blog.
Mulching operation to begin in Palm Coast
The City of Palm Coast and its contractor are continuing to pick up debris from Hurricane Matthew seven days a week. As of Tuesday evening, 1,576 truckloads had been picked up, equating to more than 55,514 cubic yards -- enough to fill nearly 17 Olympic-size swimming pools.
So far, more than half of Palm Coast’s public streets have had their first round of the pickup. Cleanup crews plan to make one full pass of all public streets before returning for a second and then a third round of pickups, if warranted. The process is expected to take a number of weeks to complete.
The debris is being taken temporarily to a City-owned parcel of land on U.S. 1 between Palm Coast Parkway and Matanzas Woods Parkway. Beginning this weekend, a contractor will begin grinding up the vegetative debris such as tree branches.
Because of that large, commercial debris-grinding operation, the nearby Shell Trail between Indian Trails Middle School and Belle Terre Elementary School will be temporarily closed between U.S. 1 and Belle Terre Parkway beginning Saturday, Oct. 29, and remain closed until further notice.
Debris removal at residences along Palm Coast’s public streets will continue seven days a week. The City will be picking up any and all debris brought to the curb along public streets. The City appreciates residents’ patience as this big job continues.
The pickup is being handled by a City contractor, CrowderGulf, which is picking up loose piles of vegetative debris such as tree branches and loose piles of construction and demolition materials such as roof shingles and fence sections; by Palm Coast’s regular trash hauler, Waste Pro, which is collecting yard debris that has been bagged; and by City Public Works crews.
To expedite debris removal from residential streets, the City asks residents to help by separating everything at the curb into the following categories:
- Vegetative Debris – leaves, logs, plants, tree branches, etc.
- Construction & Demolition Debris – building materials, asphalt shingles, drywall, lumber, metal, plastics, etc.
- Normal Household Trash – Normal household trash and bagged debris of any kind is being picked up by Waste Pro following your normal garbage and yard trash schedule.
The City is tracking the debris removal process to ensure no public streets are missed in the debris collection process. If you live on a private street within a gated community, contact your Homeowners Association to determine its plans for removing the debris out of the private neighborhood. When requested by a Homeowners Association, the City is assisting in coordinating Waste Pro services to assist in the cleanup effort in gated communities.