Contrary To Rumor, Ocean County's FEMA Centers Remain Open

Despite rumors to the contrary, six disaster recovery centers in Ocean County remain open, a FEMA official says.

And people shoudn't give up if they've been denied assistance.

The six FEMA centers are located in Bay Head, Brick, Toms River, Manahawkin, Little Egg Harbor and Harvey Cedars, said Cheri Huber, public information officer for FEMA in Ocean County.

They remain open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for Bay Head, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Each of those six DRCs are still getting a lot of people," Huber said. "We're going to be here for a while. It's just pretty incredible."

Huber said FEMA is pushing people to register for assistance "because we need to get a better handle on the housing situation."

She said people are getting denial letters, and then giving up immediately. That's a mistake, she said.

"It's recently important that people read the back of the denial letter," she said. "They could have put in the wrong address or it could be a number off."

Huber said FEMA is more than happy to accept appeals.

"We want people to know that they’re eligible for the funds," she said.