Dallas County

Disaster recovery centers open in Dallas, Collin counties to help residents apply for storm relief

FEMA is opening a recovery center in Collin County on Monday.

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After hurricane-force winds tore through North Texas, FEMA has set up several disaster recovery centers. NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen has the details. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is opening up another disaster recovery center on Monday in Collin County.

The centers are aiming to provide one-on-one help to Texans affected by the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding and straight-line winds that occurred from April 26 to June 5.

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The Collin County location is one of three that have opened up in the area in the last three days:

Collin College Courtyard Center 
4800 Preston Park Blvd.
Plano, TX. 75093

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Network of Community Ministries
1500 International Pkwy., Suite 300
Richardson, TX 75081

Williams Elementary School
1821 Oldgate Ln.
Garland, TX 75042

The two other disaster recovery centers officially opened their doors in Dallas County on Saturday.

All centers operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. To find the center location nearest you go to fema.gov/drc.

Dallas County disaster recovery centers open
Two disaster recovery centers officially opened their doors in Dallas County on Saturday. The centers are part of an effort to make it easier for people living in communities hard hit by storms to get the help they need. NBC 5's Allie Spillyards has more.

The new centers come as cleanup continues around North Texas nearly three weeks after high winds and heavy rain wreaked havoc on neighborhoods across North Dallas, Plano, Richardson and Garland.

On Saturday, Garland resident Janelle Jacobs loaded up more tree debris, even after a five-foot pile was hauled off by the city.

“We lost a third of our pecan tree that’s in the center in the back, and we had to pay for somebody to come and, of course, finish cutting it up. It was filling up the curb pretty well,” she said.

Jacobs said she had a hole repaired a hole in her roof. She still needs to have someone replace a downed electric line.

She plans to pay for it out of pocket. But with many facing repairs that will cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, a disaster recovery center down the street at Garland’s Williams Elementary aims to help those needing financial assistance navigate the process.

“We are the largest source of funds for privately damaged properties,” said Small Business Administration public information officer Susheel Kumar.

Thanks to a federal disaster declaration, the SBA is helping homeowners apply for loans up to $500,000, working alongside FEMA, which provides grants.

Both are part of a recovery process that kicks in after private insurance has been exhausted.

“Let’s say you’ve got a $100,00 claim, and you only got a check for $50,000. Guess what? The deductible and whatever is else is up there, we can cover,” said Kumar.

SBA loans are offered for businesses, homeowners and renters at fixed interest rates starting as low as 2.6 percent.

After hurricane-force winds and flooding damaged cars and homes and a multi-day power outage forced many to empty their refrigerators, Kumar encourages those who are still trying to figure out what comes next to just show up and allow this team of local, state, and federal partners to help.

Applications for assistance may also be made online or by calling 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. You can also download the FEMA App for mobile devices.

The deadline to apply is July 16. Click here for more details.

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