KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: FEMA Disaster Assistance Centers open today in Johnson & Franklin counties

Survivors of the storms, tornadoes and flooding that hit Johnson and Franklin counties May 24-26 can get their questions answered and register for state and federal assistance at Disaster Assistance Centers opening today in Ozark in Clarksville.

The center in Franklin County is in the Ozark Elementary School Cafeteria, 1601 Walden Dr., Ozark; the Johnson County site is at the Marvin Vinson Center at 1611 Oakland St., Clarksville. Regular hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. They will remain open until further notice.

Specialists with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Small Business Administration will be on hand at the centers to ensure homeowners, renters and business owners are fully informed of the grants and low-interest disaster loans that may be available.

Residents do not have to visit an assistance center to register with FEMA. They can register or check the status of an earlier registration by clicking www.disasterassistance.gov, calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 or going to m.fema.gov on a web-enabled phone. Specialists are available by phone from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Survivors who have already registered with FEMA this year do not need to register again, as they will automatically be rolled into the system for potential assistance. However, it's important they know that registering with the state, the Red Cross or any other agency does not mean they have registered with FEMA.