FEMA disaster recovery center opens in McNairy County

MCNAIRY,TENN. — FEMA has opened a disaster recovery center in McNairy County to act as a one-stop shop for those who are in need of assistance after recent storms.

“When they come here, they can apply for FEMA assistance. And there’s also other organizations and entities from different federal agencies, like the Small Business Association or other local and state partners as well,” said Andrew Friend, the Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region 5.

If you are in one of the 10 federally declared counties, you can go to any disaster recovery center in the state.

Those counties are Cannon, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lewis, Macon, McNairy, Rutherford, Tipton and Wayne.

First, you have to apply in-person, online, by app, or by phone in order to get the help you need.

“Helping out with rental assistance, help people with different contents. There’s a bunch of different things. So it’s important that every disaster survivor comes in and applies and really tells their story to get access to those services that they really deserve,” Friend said.

Before you apply, there are a few things you need to have. You will need your ID and proof of insurance.

Depending on the damage, you may be asked to provide more paperwork.

“Say you have a house that’s been damaged, they might ask you for a letter from your insurance saying how much they’re going to cover or if they’re going to cover at all. Depending on what’s damaged, say you have a vehicle or whatever, there’s a lot of different information they might need,” Friend said.

In order to get additional assistance and help, officials say it’s critical to keep FEMA updated with where you’re at or your current situation.

“Once you apply, let’s say their primary residence was damaged, they’re going to schedule, most likely, a site inspection. And it’s important that you pick up that phone and answer that, and a lot of times, it’s from an out-of-state number or restricted. But answering that to get that site inspection schedule is really important on your road to recovery,” Friend said.

The McNairy County Disaster Recovery Center is located at 205 West Court Avenue in Selmer.

The center is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information on how to apply, you can visit disasterassistance.gov, download the FEMA app, or call 1-800-621-3362.

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