ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands — A Disaster Recovery Center is open in St. Croix to provide information and help for hurricane survivors.
The DRC will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until further notice at the Old Post Office Building at Church and Company streets in Christiansted.
Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be available to answer questions and provide information on the types of federal help available to homeowners, renters and business owners as a result of the major disaster declarations stemming from the hurricanes.
With current connectivity issues on the islands, the recovery center also offers a place for survivors to register for assistance in person and get one-on-one help from recovery specialists.
St. Croix was designated for Individual Assistance under the major disaster declaration for Hurricane Maria. However, survivors of Hurricane Irma may also get their questions answered at the St. Croix recovery center.
“Survivors have been through incredible challenges because of the two historic hurricanes, and we want to ensure everyone receives all the assistance available to them,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer William Vogel. “The Disaster Recovery Center is a good place to start that process.”
Survivors with internet or phone service may register with FEMA at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. Individuals who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 800-462-7585 directly. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS) may call 800-621-3362.
These toll-free telephone numbers are operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice; operators are standing by to assist survivors in multiple languages.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (voice, 711/VRS - Video Relay Service) (TTY: 800-462-7585). Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
For official information on the recovery effort following the hurricanes, please visit www.informusvi.com or www.usviupdate.com. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/femaregion2.
To donate or volunteer, contact the voluntary or charitable organization of your choice through the National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (NVOAD) at www.nvoad.org. For those who wish to help, cash donations offer voluntary agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources and pumps money into the local economy to help businesses recover. The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands also has the “Fund for the Virgin Islands” at www.USVIrecovery.org.