Hundreds troop to disaster center

A few hundred residents showed up at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe yesterday, most of them seeking to register for federal assistance.

The hall was earlier designated as a Disaster Recovery Center by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

It opened its doors Wednesday to accommodate typhoon survivors wanting to get supplemental information on financial assistance and small business loans.

Although FEMA emphasized that the DRC was not designed to accommodate registrations for FEMA assistance, many residents showed up anyway to register.

According to Virginia Marquez, the DRC manager, she has no actual numbers on the visitors. She said the DRC accommodated those wanting to register.

A handful of visitors who registered prior to the opening of the DRC were told to wait for inspectors to give them a call, Marquez said.

The first day of the DRC opening was uneventful, except for a computer glitch that did not allow for registrations.

“We had a glitch in the computer, so we had to make appointments to those who were not able to register,” Marquez said, adding that the system breakdown lasted for a “few hours” and was back up again in the afternoon.

She said she was not aware of the cause of the computer breakdown, but the immediate effect was that the system was not able to accept registrations.

According to Marquez, the first day went smoothly. She added that more visitors are expected to go to the DRC in succeeding days.

Marquez also said most registrants came in via telephone. Aside from the computer glitch, there were no other concerns, she said.

She added that those who already registered with FEMA need not go to the DRC, unless they want to obtain more information, or they want to make corrections on the information they supplied during the registration.

The DRC was opened yesterday at 12pm and accommodated disaster victims until 5pm. Normal hours of operation will be Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 5pm, and Sunday, from 10am to 4pm.

“After registering online or by telephone, survivors can access ‘one-stop shop’ service at the DRC and receive assistance with additional registration needs such as case inquiries and updates,” FEMA said.

Experts from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the American Red Cross will be available at the DRC.

Visitors are requested to bring identification cards, Social Security numbers, and their FEMA registration number (which you will get by registering first with FEMA). The FEMA number will be the number visitors will have to reference every time they interact with FEMA staff regarding registration.

Those seeking assistance are also requested to bring insurance documents, receipts of any repairs performed on homes or items purchased to recover from typhoon damage (not all will be eligible for reimbursement, but good to have just in case), and any other documents that may further verify survivors’ occupancy or ownership of a home.

Survivors are encouraged to apply for assistance before going to the DRC by calling 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362 to register. Online registration is also available at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

If survivors are unable to register prior to visiting the DRC, there will be a phone bank available for registration or helpline support.

The number of registrants has reached more than 3,000.