Volusia County residents line-up for help at FEMA recovery center
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - More than a hundred people waited inside Volusia County’s new FEMA disaster recovery center. Some people said they’d been in line for more than an hour.
"I'm still waiting," said Stephanie Sanders, "I've been here since nine o'clock this morning and there's still about 30 people ahead of me."
Sanders says her car was swamped in Volusia County flooding. "I applied for FEMA assistance and was denied, so I saw online that I could come and appeal and get an update on my SBA loan."
Hurricane Ian badly damaged Destaynee Williams' Daytona Beach home. "They are going to have to completely gut my house, tear down all the drywall, bathrooms, everywhere. The water damage I guess is that severe," she said.
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Hurricane Ian swept through Volusia County. Williams says it's sad to see how many people need help. "Every time I call it's 462 minute wait. So I figured let me come, I took off work today to come down and see if I can talk to someone face to face."
At Volusia County's disaster recovery center, FEMA official Debra Young said it was a one-stop-shop for post-hurricane aid. "They can get information about disaster assistance available from FEMA and the state, and also, if they haven't applied online, they can do that here as well."
This center is located at the Volusia County Health Department. It's open seven-days-a-week from 9am to 6pm. Workers there can help with applying for FEMA aid, housing and utility information, application status updates, appealing denied applications, and small business administration resources. "If they have any questions about their application, or need to drop-off any documentation to support their applications," Young said, "they can do that as well."