A disaster recovery center will open next week for those affected by flooding in September.

The center is planned to open Tuesday at Northbridge Mall, 2510 Bridge Ave., to help renters, homeowners and businesses, according to a press release.

Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Management division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, U.S. Small Business Administration and other agencies will discuss a disaster assistance program, provide literature about repairs and rebuilding to make homes more flood resistant and answer questions about written correspondence.

The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Freeborn County Emergency Management Director Rich Hall said the center could be open for 30 to 60 days, depending on the public’s response.

“I can’t stress enough the importance for people to still get into the disaster relief center when it opens,” he said. “They’ll send a FEMA rep out to your house, They’ll look at stuff and say ‘yeah, we’ll get you this amount of dollars.’ You want to be able to sit down face to face with those people and explain what’s going on.”

Flood victims are advised to register for federal assistance before visiting a recovery center, either online at at DisasterAssistance.org, by using the FEMA application or by calling 800-621-3362.

Anyone who requires a reasonable accommodation or uses a video relay service or 711 may call 800-621-3362 to ask recovery staff at the center for assistance or request assistance in advance, according to the press release.

Those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-462-7585 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Anyone applying for disaster assistance is advised to register with FEMA, then complete and return a no-obligation Small Business Administration loan application. There is no charge to apply for the loan, and if approved, there is no obligation to accept it, the press release stated.

Freeborn, Blue Earth, Hennepin, LeSueur, Rice, Steele and Waseca Counties have been approved for individual assistance.

A free, multilingual guide to the types of available assistance is online at fema.gov/pdf/assistance/process/help_after_disaster_english.pdf.