UPDATE (4 PM): This story has been updated with additional information received since the original publication of this story.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set up at Fairfield Hills offering assistance to Newtown residents. Following the historic flooding on August 18, homes, businesses, and towns have been left to literally pick up the pieces, but there is help for those who were devastated by the flood.

The FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) Reservists team arrived yesterday and will be on-site through Saturday, October 5. They are set up in the parking lot off Keating Farms Avenue, opposite the playing fields, and will be available daily from 8 am-6 pm. They are there to help residents fill out applications, inquire about in-process applications, and answer any and all questions regarding the recovery process, they said Thursday morning.

Residents have three ways to apply for disaster assistance: call 800-621-3362, visit DisasterAssistance.gov, or use the FEMA app on a mobile device. Applicants will need their address including zip code, condition of damaged home, insurance information (if available), Social Security Number, a reliable phone number, and a mailing address or email address.

Those applying for FEMA assistance will need to save the FEMA registration number they are assigned. It will be used whenever applicants contact FEMA. Disaster assistance funds are available for direct deposit.

There is also a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Southbury Town Hall, 501 Main Street South, Southbury. this temporary facility is providing assistance to homeowners, renters, businesses, and private nonprofits seeking aid. Small business assitance is also available at SBA Business Recovery Centers in Monroe at the Monroe Police Department, 7 Fan Hill Road, Monroe, and at the Oxford Town Hall, 486 Oxford Road, Oxford.

Christopher Matias, the crew leader for Newtown and Sandy Hook, said, “We’re here for [residents]. Our mission is to help them as much as we can, so they can have all the information they need and try to help them get back to their feet.”

Alan Fuller, a DSA reservist on-site, said, “Some people just want to talk sometimes because, let’s say you lost everything you have except the shirt on your back, they want to talk and be comforted just for a few minutes because they have nothing … so we help them psychologically, mentally, and physically as well.

“Hopefully we can help them if they need lodging, we can help them, too. We’re here to serve your community,” he added.

Nilda Cantu, a fellow DSA reservist, said, “I can’t say I know how you feel, because I do not know, but we’re here, even if they just want to talk. We’re here to register, we’re here to listen.”

For those who have already filled out an application and are wondering about the progress, the reservists are able to give updates.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.