Springfield, Illinois Opens Disaster Recovery Centers

Published 5 April 2006

State and federal officials open new disaster relief centers for tornado victims

In the wake of major tornado activities in the city of Springfield, Illinois, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Illinois Emergency Management Agency announced the opening of two disaster recovery centers on Tuesday. Located at the City Water, Light and Power building on Groth Street and at the ACE Hardware store on Wabash Avenue, the centers were opened for the victims of last month’s tornadoes to meet with experts on disaster recovery.

FEMA spokesman, Sam Ventura, explained that the centers were opened so that victims would have a place to get registration information. “A lot of people feel more comfortable talking face to face with people. If they have other questions that are unanswered, there they can talk to other agencies,” Ventura said.

The centers will be staffed by different local, state and federal agencies like FEMA and the Internal Revenue Service. While being closed on Easter Sunday, there doors of the centers will remain open until further notice. The rash of severe weather activities within the city, which spanned four days, have resulted in more than twelve deaths, with nine of them from tornadoes.