FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers Closing

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers that are still operating in East Tennessee will officially close at 5pm Tuesday, Jan 7. This is for all DRC’s which includes Cocke, Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. Centers in Greene and Hamblen counties closed back in early December. January 7 is the last day for Tennessee homeowners, students and renters impacted by Tropical Storm Helene to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. the deadline to apply for a long-term, low interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration is also January 7. The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Cocke County is located in the old Wal-Mart building on West Broadway in Newport behind Krystal’s.

If you registered for assistance, FEMA encourages you to keep in touch. Update your account at DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline 800-621-3362 7am to midnight ET.

As of Friday, FEMA had approved more than $25 million in assistance for over 6,600 households in Tennessee. The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out $6.15 million as they have completed 50% of claims.