This is the last week of business for the Disaster Relief Center office in Hancock County.

The FEMA center, which has been aiding victims of the recent floods in Western Illinois, will close at 4 p.m. It is located at the Dallas City Elementary School, 921 Creamery Hill Road, in Dallas City.

Anyone who has applied for disaster assistance and has received a disaster-loan application from the SBA is urged to complete and return it as soon as possible. If SBA determines that a homeowner or renter is ineligible for a loan, that applicant automatically will be referred to FEMA for other possible grant assistance. 

SBA representatives are available to meet with applicants at any of the DRCs.  In addition, there is a Disaster Loan Operation Center open in Rock Island County at the Milan Municipal Building, 405 East 1st Street, Milan.

SBA representatives will be on hand at the Milan location Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., at which time the center is slated to close.

Renters, homeowners and business owners in the 18 Illinois disaster-designated counties who sustained damages or losses from the severe storms and flooding from June 1 through July 22 should be sure to register with FEMA right away if they have not already done so. The deadline to register is August 25, about three weeks away. 

Even those who are awaiting additional information or services from other sources should register now for assistance by calling FEMA's toll-free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Applicants with a hearing- or speech-impairment who have TTY equipment should call TTY 1-800-462-7585. The telephone lines are available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., daily. Applicants also can register online at www.fema.gov.
Area designated eligible for individual assistance include Adams, Hancock, Henderson and Rock Island.

Individual assistance can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, essential home repairs and other necessary disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.

More than $9.7 million in federal disaster assistance grants and loans has been approved so far by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration for Illinois residents who suffered damages and losses during the severe storms and flooding beginning June 1 and continuing through July 22.

To date, 2,817 homeowners and renters from the 18 statewide disaster-designated counties have applied for disaster assistance.

-$5,490,235 in grants has been approved for Illinois applicants.
-$5,024,391 in housing assistance to cover temporary rental assistance, home repairs and replacement.
-$465,844 in Other Needs Assistance to cover personal property losses, medical, dental, funeral, transportation or other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance.
-$4,298,400 in U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans has been approved for 73 disaster assistance applicants.
-2,098 disaster loan applications have been issued, 1,619 to residents and 479 to business owners.

More than 1,500 Illinois residents have visited FEMA's Disaster Recovery Centers for face-to-face meetings with disaster recovery specialists.