(Provided by Shelley Szafraniec)

VOLUSIA COUNTY RAINFALL - UPDATE #17
Disaster Recovery Centers to open May 28
      
President Obama's declaration Wednesday of a major disaster in
Florida is triggering the release of federal funds to help affected
residents recover from the recent rainfall event in Volusia County that
began May 17. The assistance will be to individuals and households.
Public assistance has not been declared at this time.

To apply for assistance, residents must be a homeowner, renter or
business owner in Volusia County with disaster-related damage or loss
resulting from the May 17 and continuing severe storms, flooding,
tornado and straight-line winds. Residents whose properties have been
affected by the recent rainfall can either visit one of two Disaster
Recovery Centers (DRC) in the county, register online anytime at
www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or call 800-621-FEMA (3362) or
800-462-7585 (TTY) for hearing/speech impaired from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
seven days a week. The DRCs will be open at the following locations
beginning from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Thursday, May 28:

-      Holly Hill Recreation Center, 1046 Daytona Ave., Holly Hill
(this is the location of the previous Essential Services Center)
-      Dickerson Center, 308 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Daytona
Beach

FEMA representatives (to assist individuals) and Small Business
Administration (SBA) representatives (to assist businesses) will be at
the DRCs to register residents. Residents must bring the following
information with them to the DRCs or when calling the FEMA hotline:

-      Contact information (name, address)
-      Social Security Number
-      Household income information/number of people in household
-      Insurance information
-      A description of damage to their home/business as a result of
the rainfall event    

SBA representatives will be at the DRCs to meet with individuals and
business owners to answer any questions about SBA's disaster loan
program, help them complete their SBA disaster loan application and
accept the completed disaster loan applications. Anyone not able to
visit a DRC should call the SBA Customer Service Center from 8 a.m. - 8
p.m. Monday - Friday, at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the
speech/hearing impaired) for information and assistance or visit the SBA
website at www.sba.gov.

ESSENTIAL SERVICE CENTER UPDATE

The two Essential Service Centers remained open Wednesday to offer
assistance to citizens affected by the flooding. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday,
the Daytona Beach center had provided services to more than 938 people;
the Holly Hill center had provided services to more than 761 people
(these totals are for Tuesday and Wednesday).

The ESCs were designed as one-stop shops where local residents can
receive information on recovery activities, state and local services,
and connect to faith- and community-based relief organizations. The
centers were interim facilities to assist flood survivors while local
damage assessments continue and federal disaster requests were pending.

As of Thursday morning, the ESC in Holly Hill will convert to one of
the two Disaster Recovery Centers, the ESC in Daytona Beach will close
and the second DRC will open in Daytona Beach at the address listed
above.

-30-

Contact: Shelley Szafraniec, APR
(386) 804-2195

(Provided by Shelley Szafraniec)

Flooding response in Volusia County

AFFECTED BY FLOODING? CONTACT AMERICAN RED CROSS - Residents
experiencing home damage as a result of flood water or fallen trees
should contact the American Red Cross at (386) 226-1400. The agency is
logging calls of affected addresses. Information the American Red Cross
receives assists the agency in damage assessment coordination,
facilitates appropriate levels of American Red Cross response to
affected areas and helps determine shelter needs.

INTERNET RESOURCE FOR FLOODING INFORMATION - Volusia County
Government's web site, www.volusia.org/PIN, includes information
from agencies involved in the flooding response, including Volusia
County Government, Flagler County, the American Red Cross,
municipalities, Votran public transportation, and Volusia County
schools. Click on www.volusia.org/PIN.

CITY INFORMATION LINES ACTIVATED - Several agencies in Volusia County
have activated citizen information lines for questions or concerns
regarding the recent rainfall: American Red Cross - (386) 226-1400;
Daytona Beach - (386) 671-5555; Holly Hill - 386-248-9410.

FLOODED AREAS REQUIRE CAUTIOUS DRIVING - Motorists should use extreme
caution when driving; there is localized flooding on more than a dozen
streets throughout Volusia County. In addition, people should avoid
walking through pooling/deep water as it may be contaminated or have
snakes, alligators and other animals. The flooding of roadways is
anticipated to worsen as ponds and retention areas near capacity.

AMERICAN RED CROSS SHELTER - Florida's Coast to Coast Chapter of the
American Red Cross has opened a shelter for those affected by flooding
at the Westside Baptist Church, 1085 Mason Ave., Daytona Beach. For
those in need of sheltering elsewhere in Volusia or Flagler County,
please contact the American Red Cross at (386) 226-1400. Residents
seeking shelter are reminded to bring any special dietary needs, food,
bedding, medication, toiletry items and games/toys.

PREPARE NOW FOR HURRICANE SEASON - Hurricane season is less than two
weeks away. With the recent threat of wildfires and now flooding,
citizens need to make sure they are prepared for disasters as they can
happen any time during the year. Complete disaster preparedness
information can be found online at www.volusia.org/storm.

-30-

Vickie Pleus, APR
Community Information Manager
(386) 822-5062 ext. 2689