Ventura County (Calif.) Disaster Recovery Center Opens

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) announced that a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) will open in Ventura County on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005, to serve those who suffered damages during the severe storms of Dec. 27, 2004 – Jan. 11, 2005.

Affected homeowners, renters and business owners should register for assistance first by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The TTY number is 1-800-462-7585 for those who are speech- or hearing-impaired.

The center will provide people with an opportunity to meet face-to-face with recovery specialists. The DRC location:

Ventura County, Oak View Park and Resource Center, 555 Mahoney Ave. (off Highway 33), Oak View, Calif.

Representatives of state, federal, and voluntary agencies, as well as loan officers from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will be on hand to answer questions and provide recovery information.

OES coordinates overall state agency response to major disasters in support of local government. The office is responsible for ensuring California’s readiness to respond to and recover from natural, manmade and war-caused emergencies and for assisting local governments in their emergency preparedness, response, mitigation and recovery efforts.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.