ATLANTA – Just one week after federal major disaster declarations were issued for 17 north and central Georgia counties where individuals had flood damage, more than $24 million in disaster assistance has been approved to help with the recovery from the storms and flooding that started September 18, announced officials with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“We’re pleased with the pace of recovery operations, but we aren’t letting up,” said GEMA Director Charley English. “We’ll continue working hand-in-hand with FEMA and local partners to give those affected by the flooding a helping hand.”

The 17 counties under the disaster declaration for Individual Assistance are Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker.

"While more than 5,000 Georgians have already received disaster assistance,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech, “FEMA is still working hard with our state and local partners to reach out to all eligible flood survivors and help them resume their lives as quickly as possible."

Twenty-one counties are eligible for FEMA Public Assistance which reimburses state agencies and local governments for eligible disaster-related emergency measures and repair and replacement of damaged roads, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure. The reimbursement is on a cost-share basis – 75 federal, 25 percent state-local.

Individuals can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585. The toll-free numbers are staffed seven days a week, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. until further notice. Help in all languages is available.
Recovery assistance by the numbers:

$24.11 million has been approved to help disaster-affected Georgians with temporary housing, home repairs and other needs through FEMA and state disaster grants programs.

15,080 people in the 17 designated counties have registered with FEMA for Individual Assistance.

2,704 people visited one of 14 state and federal Disaster Recovery Centers to talk face to face with recovery specialists.

14 Disaster Recovery Centers are open seven days a week in north and central Georgia.
55 FEMA Community Relations field specialists are visiting neighborhoods, talking with Georgians at their homes and at community meetings in affected counties. Teams have visited more than 1,000 homes and talked with more than 300 businesses, churches, schools and community organizations.

10,550 pamphlets, booklets and other publications that provide information on how to reduce the risk of future flood losses have been distributed by FEMA Mitigation outreach specialists.

Disaster Recovery Centers

Fourteen Disaster Recovery Centers are now open in north and central Georgia.
Hours for all centers are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday until further notice.

• Carroll County. Old Greenway Medical Building, 590 Hays Mill Road, Carrollton, GA 30117
• Catoosa County. Learning Center, 36 Muskogee Trail, Ringgold, GA 30736
• Chattooga County. Trion School, 919 All Good St., Trion, GA 30753
• Cherokee County. Cherokee County Parks and Recreation Department Gym, 200 Building, 7545 Main St. Woodstock, GA 30188
• Cobb County. The Threadmill, Suite 151, 5000, Austell/Powder Springs Road, Austell, GA 30106
• DeKalb County. Browns Mill Recreation Center, 5101 Browns Mill Road, Lithonia, GA
• Douglas County. Lithia Springs First United Methodist Church, 3711 Temple St., Lithia Springs, GA 30122
• Douglas County. Heritage Baptist Church, 8800 Rose Ave., Douglasville, GA 30134
• Fulton County. Fulton County Government Center, 141 Pryor St. SW, Atlanta, GA
• Gwinnett County. Mountain Park Depot, 5050 Five Forks Trickum Road, Lilburn, GA 30047
• Paulding County. Paulding County Community Center, 54 Industrial Way, Dallas, GA 30132
• Rockdale County. Government Annex, 1400 Parker Road, Conyers, Georgia 30012
• Stephens County. Stephens County Senior Center, 199 Hayley Drive, Toccoa, GA 30577
• Walker County. Walker County Agricultural Center, 10054 North Highway 27, Rock Spring, GA 30739

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

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For more information on Georgia’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov or www.gema.ga.gov or www.ready.ga.gov/ or http://twitter.com/GeorgiaEMA