MERCER COUNTY, W.Va. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still working to get people financial assistance in Mercer County. Now we’re learning more about just how many people have been helped so far.
A spokeswoman for FEMA says 548 Mercer County residents have registered for disaster recovery assistance. As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars has been disbursed to residents affected by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
“FEMA has so far given out over $600,000 to family households who needed assistance for home repairs, rental assistance, displacement or anything like that. Those numbers also continue to grow,” said Tiana Suber, FEMA spokeswoman.
In total, $657,437.36 has been disbursed to Mercer County residents.
Suber says people are still being encouraged to register for assistance if they were affected. The deadline to register is Feb. 7 but the disaster recovery center will remain open until then.
You can also register for assistance online at www.Disasterassistance.Gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.
“We’re just encouraging people to continue to register and make sure of what resources are available to you and not miss on any funding that could help you with your recovery process,” said Suber.
Suber says if you were denied help from FEMA, you should reach out to understand why. She adds denied claims are not final and could be changed with new information.
“It’s usually something about missing information. If you are still at this point waiting for your insurance claim and the letter for your insurance claim. Let us know that as well because that sometimes will equal an automatic letter to be sent because we’re waiting on what your insurance is covering and what they’re not covering,” said Suber.
Help is also still available to those who can’t make it to the disaster recovery center but need assistance navigating the process. You can reach out to Mercer County’s Office of Emergency Management at 304-487-8448 for more information.
The disaster recovery center in Mercer County will be moving for a few days temporarily. The center will move from the Maple View Church of Christ to the Lifeline Princeton Church of God from Jan. 2 through Jan 4.
Lifeline Princeton Church of God
250 Oakvale Rd.
Princeton, WV 24740
Hours of operation:
Thursday, Jan. 2: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Maple View Church of Christ
194 Robins Rest Rd.
Bluefield, WV 24701
Hours of operation:
Monday, Dec. 30: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Wednesday, Jan. 1: Closed
(DRC in Princeton Thursday Jan. 2 – Saturday, Jan. 4)
Monday, Jan. 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 7 – Friday, Jan. 10: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 11, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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