(Lawrenceville, Ga., October 22, 2009) - The FEMA/GEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) located at the Mountain Park Depot at 5050 Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn will close Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Emergency officials urge residents to visit the center before Friday to meet one-on-one with specialists to register with FEMA to receive federal assistance for flood damages.

Residents can also register for assistance 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. to 10 p.m. Help is available in all languages.

The DRC at the Mountain Park Depot will transition to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Outreach Center beginning Monday, Oct. 26. SBA representatives will be available at the site to answer any questions about its low-interest disaster loan program for homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes to repair or replace real estate and personal property. The outreach center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until further notice.

Residents can also call the SBA Customer Service Center at 800.659.2955 between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, visit the SBA website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance or send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for information and assistance. Applicants may apply for disaster loans from SBA's secure website at http://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.