Severe flood damage, more than $1 million of it in several areas in Ohio, including Hubbard and Brookfield, has prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up shop in Trumbull County.

Last week, FEMA officials opened an information center for Mahoning County residents affected by the storms.

Starting today, Trumbull County residents may go to a disaster-recovery center at 418 Main St., Warren, for face-to-face interaction with FEMA representatives.

The center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Officials from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Department of Insurance and the county health department will join the federal officials to answer residents' questions and provide information.

Rob Glenn, chief of public affairs for Ohio EMA, said people still need to call and register before going to the center.

"People can't be considered for assistance if we don't know they've suffered the damage," he said. "It's imperative that they call the number and get the process started."

Glenn said as of last week, 5,658 applications were processed through FEMA's help line.

The center, Glenn said, will act primarily as a one-stop information point for residents.

"Disaster-recovery centers allow people to talk to a person about in-depth questions and request information," Glenn said.

A FEMA spokeswoman said in addition to receiving pertinent information, people may also go to the center to check the status of their applications.

There are programs that people may qualify for that may help to "mitigate future disasters to their property," Glenn said. This is the kind of information that people can receive at the center.

"They can talk to someone about how to improve their property so that in the future it may sustain less damage," Glenn said. "There are some things that our specialists can recommend to a homeowner to possibly minimize the dangers due to flooding."

Glenn suggests homeowners have insurance documents and loss estimates on hand when calling FEMA. To apply, call 1-800-621-3362 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.