Disaster Recovery Center, McConnelsville

Three laptop computers, a few cell phones, an office phone, a banner on the wall and four experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration spent the weekend in McConnelsville, the centrum of Morgan County, assisting local residents who were hit by the early January floods.

“The U.S. Small Business Administration administers the low interest loan program for federal government and is the primary source of recovery following a federal disaster event. The one thing that we find in the local community is that a lot of people are just completely overwhelmed by the situation," says Brent Hall, of the Small Business Administration. "The most important thing that we can stress is that they need to call the 1-800-621-FEMA number. That’s where the process of recovery begins. Once you call the 1-800-621-FEMA, they’ll get you the application packages, phone numbers you can call and gain assistance in completing those applications and walk you through the recovery process.”

Hall says the first place a disaster victim is supposed to start is with FEMA.

“You must start out with FEMA. That is the door that you must open first so that you can see all the other federal agencies that are involved in the recovery process.”

Hall describes it as a step-by-step process that is all started by one phone call.

“The way the federal systems is organized is that you call the 1-800-621-FEMA. A teller registrar puts you into the National Emergency Management Information System, NEMIS. From that point, until your file is closed out, whether that be six days, six weeks, six months, six years, all your information is stored in that one source, for FEMA, for the SBA, for the local EMAs, the Red Cross, for everyone who is involved in disaster recovery, that is why the process starts with one centralized 1-800 number.”

FEMA has given over $500,000 in grants and low interest loans to disaster victims in various parts of Ohio.

...need we say more? Gaysport, at the Musk. River

Brent Hall is interviewed by WCLT's Jarrod Allen