Disaster center to open Friday

By Gerard MacCrossan
The Kerrville Daily Times
Published July 11, 2002
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will be in
Kerrville Friday to open a Disaster Relief Center to help local
residents and business owners impacted by last week's floods.
FEMA information officer Bill Lindsay announced Wednesday that
the relief center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a
week, until further notice at Trinity Baptist Church.
FEMA personnel will be on hand to meet with flood victims to
answer questions and provide recovery information and written
materials about various assistance programs. Among the disaster
programs available are temporary housing assistance, individual and
family grants, low interest Small Business Administration loans,
disaster un-employment assistance and crisis counseling.
"This is a great opportunity for people in Kerrville and Kerr
County to sit down with the different agencies and get their
recovery questions answered," said Mindy Wendele, City of Kerrville
spokeswoman. "Although the Disaster Recovery Center will open
Friday, it is extremely important for individuals and businesses to
call the FEMA disaster number to begin the application
process."


The FEMA disaster number is (800) 621-3362.
FEMA inspectors were in Kerrville again Wednesday, inspecting
some damaged homes. According to Lindsay, FEMA has already received
44,000 inspection requests in Texas.
The number of individuals seeking relief from the floods across
South Texas increased by more than 1,000 Tuesday, bringing the
total to 5,855, he said. FEMA has already distributed $1.8 million
in relief in the form of emergency housing.
"The registration process is going rapidly," Lindsay said,
adding that most registrations took between 5 and 7 minutes.
Aid also is available from the local chapter of the Red Cross,
but flooding victims must interview with the Red Cross separately
to receive aid from them, too.
Daletta Andreas, Hill Country chapter executive director, said
the chapter has received calls from people who thought registering
with FEMA or for cleanup services from local groups automatically
registered them for Red Cross services. That's incorrect, Andreas
said.
"They need to come in and go through our interview process," she
said.
The Red Cross service center, 333 Earl Garrett St., is open from
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and will be open this weekend, Andreas
said.
People seeking assistance must provide identification proving
they reside in the area.
Members of the State Bar of Texas are offering free legal advice
for flood victims. Victims in Texas counties declared a federal
disaster can call (800) 504-7030 for assistance with basic legal
questions.
The free legal assistance hotline, operated in coordination with
Texas Rural Legal Aid and volunteer lawyers from across the state,
will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday,
and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.
"Once flood victims' immediate needs are met, they may encounter
legal questions regarding lost documents, landlord-tenant disputes,
or probate matters," said State Bar President Guy Harrison of
Longview. "We want to do whatever we can to help Texans through
this trying time."
Volunteer lawyers will offer basic advice, answer legal
questions and provide appropriate referral information in both
English and Spanish. Callers requiring more detailed advice or
continuing legal representation may be referred to legal aid
programs, pro bono attorneys or private attorneys.