MEMA and FEMA Teams Canvassing Flood-Stricken Areas in Mississippi

PEARL, Miss. – Disaster survivor assistance teams are working in flood-stricken neighborhoods throughout Bolivar, Coahoma and Washington counties to help Mississippi flood survivors register for assistance.

The teams are made up of disaster specialists from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They are canvassing areas to give residents an opportunity to register for disaster assistance and to quickly identify and address immediate and emerging needs. The teams can also provide application updates and referrals to additional resources when needs remain.

These mobile team members can be identified easily by their photo identifications and MEMA or FEMA clothing. Mississippi residents are reminded to ask for photo identification before providing personal information.

Homeowners, renters and business owners affected by the floods that began March 9, 2016, in Bolivar, Coahoma and Washington counties can register for federal assistance.

In addition to the registration opportunity offered by recovery teams, survivors can register for assistance by the following methods:

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
• By calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362, which is video relay service accessible. Survivors who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have difficulty speaking may call TTY       800-462-7585. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week. Assistance is available in multiple languages.
• Business owners can find an electronic loan application on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Questions can be answered by calling the SBA disaster customer service center at 800-659-2955/ (TTY) 800-877-8339 or visiting sba.gov/disaster.

For more information on Mississippi’s flood recovery, go to fema.gov/disaster/4268 or visit the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency site at msema.org.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who are referred to SBA must submit the loan application to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.