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Community Corner

FEMA Recovery Center Open for Business

The center will help residents with damage from Tropical Storm Irene apply for federal assistance.

Federal officials opened a special disaster assistance center on the beach in East Haven Thursday to help residents apply for financial relief to recover from Tropical Storm Irene.

Mayor April Capone said Gov. Dannel Malloy arranged for the center to open in East Haven at her request.

She said she called the governor to ask why a disaster assistance center was located in North Haven instead of East Haven, which appears to be the hardest hit community in the state.

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"There’s a lot of people in need of assistance right now, so we want to make it as expeditious as possible," said FEMA spokesperson Darrell Habisch.

One of them was Cosey Beach resident Charles Lombardi, whose house on the beach was declared a total loss because of damage from Tropical Storm Irene.

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Lombardi said the assistance at the center was helpful. "It’s going to be a long procedure."

He said he lived at the beach for 21 years, and at age 67 he never thought this is what he would have to do at this point in his life.

Lombardi said he still hasn’t heard from his private insurance about how much of the damage was covered. He had to have his house demolished and doubts he will rebuild, although his children might, he said.

The reason was the North Haven site was one of several predetermined locations designated before the tropical storm hit in order to get them operating as soon as possible.

But at Capone’s request, Malloy asked FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to set up an additional center at the beach house on Cosey Beach Road, adjacent to East Haven’s hardest hit neighborhood.

The eye of the storm made landfall on Aug. 28 in Milford and West Haven, which meant the strongest winds and highest storm surge at the storm’s northeast edge hit East Haven squarely. Also, the strongest part of the storm hit the Connecticut coast just at high tide, unlike Hurricane Gloria in 1985 which passed through the state at low tide.

FEMA officials said the most important first step is for storm-affected residents to start the disaster assistance process by coming to the center in person, going online to www.fema.gov or calling the agency’s toll-free number at 800-621-3362.

Paul Ferris, the FEMA disaster recovery center manager, asked residents with damage to call and set up an appointment with an inspector, who would visit three to five days after the call.

"Our mission is to make a home habitable, functional, safe and sanitary," Ferris said.

FEMA assistance is capped at $30,200 and second homes are not eligible, only primary residences. Recipients must be U.S. citizens or qualified aliens.

However, the funds are available for a wide variety of uses that may not be covered by private insurance.

That could include the cost of emergency housing relocation or mold and mildew remediation.

Residents who are not eligible for FEMA assistance or need more help than the agency can provide might also be able to apply for Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest loans.

Ferris said many people are not aware that SBA help is available for residences as well as businesses.

Two-thirds of applicants receive FEMA disaster assistance funds within a week after applying, and those who take advantage of direct deposit receive it fastest, the FEMA officials said.

Correction: FEMA spokesperson Darrell Habisch was incorrectly identified as Paul Ferris, the assistance center manager.

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