ROCK RAPIDS, IA (KELO) — FEMA has mobilized to northwest Iowa. The agency has set up disaster recovery centers in Lyon and Emmet counties to help residents impacted by recent flooding.
Two weeks after floods ravaged many communities in northwest Iowa, FEMA has arrived in Rock Rapids to help homeowners.
“The things that we provide at the Disaster Recovery Center is rental assistance, housing assistance, home repair and rental assistance. If you’ve been displaced from your home, we also help with that temporarily so that you can have a place to live, have a roof over your head while you’re searching for another place to live,” FEMA spokeswoman Tiana Suber said.
Inside the Forester Community Center, FEMA is offering one-on-one help for flood victims.
“You need your I.D., you need your place of residence, utility bills, receipts, anything that can help you with your case,” Suber said.
Along with FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration is in town. Through them, you can apply for small-interest loans.
“Our home loans are as low as 2.68%, and our business loans are as low as 4%. We do also offer mitigation services as well,” U.S. Small Business Administration public information officer Marielle Anne Alipio said.
For the many people affected by flooding, any sort of relief makes a difference.
“Anything is going to help because when you’re kind of working on a fixed income, just anything helps. We have some insurance, but it isn’t going to cover it, that’s for sure,” Mary Ann Schaff said.
FEMA funding is available to homeowners and renters in Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Emmet, Lyon, O’Brien, Plymouth and Sioux Counties. The stations in Rock Rapids and Estherville, Iowa, are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
