President Declares Disaster for Mississippi

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Mississippi and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding on April 28, 2014 and continuing.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Itawamba, Lee, Lowndes, Madison, Rankin, Wayne, and Winston counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.     

Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency work for damage from the severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding in Itawamba, Lee, Lowndes, Madison, Rankin, Wayne, and Winston counties.

Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Mark H. Landry has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Landry said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated area can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov.  Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

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