Individuals and households affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from Feb. 22 – March 29, 2019, in Clay, Humphreys, Issaquena, Lowndes, Monroe, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo counties in Mississippi are now eligible to register for federal disaster assistance.
Disaster assistance is available for individual homeowners and renters. The assistance may include grants to help pay for temporary rental assistance, essential home repairs for homeowners, and other disaster-related needs such as uninsured and out of pocket medical, dental, funeral, and childcare expenses.
To be eligible for federal assistance, the damage must have occurred between February 22, 2019, through March 29, 2019, during the storms, flooding, and slides.
The deadline to register for federal assistance is November 19, 2019.
FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid, or other federal benefits.
There are three ways to register for disaster assistance:
*Online at DisasterAssistance.gov
*By calling the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-FEMA (3362) (v/VRS/711) or 800-462-7585 (TTY). Lines are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
*At any Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). FEMA will announce locations of DRCs in the affected area soon. At a DRC, survivors can register for assistance and meet face to face with federal and state specialists who can help connect them with other programs that may provide assistance. The centers are equipped with video remote interpreting and assistive listening devices. If needed, an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter will be made available.
Mississippi residents can also apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the federal government’s primary source of funding for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. For more information, residents may contact SBA’s disaster assistance customer service center at 800-659-2955. Applicants may also email SBA disaster customer service at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or by email or visit www.sba.gov/disaster
For more information on the Individual and Households Assistance process, please visit www.fema.gov/individual-disaster-assistance
For information about Mississippi’s recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4429 or www.msema.org/feb-23-2019-storms-tornadoes
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