RIDGELAND, Miss. –The state/federal disaster recovery center in Forrest County at 946 Sullivan Drive, Hattiesburg, will close Wednesday, April 27, at 6 p.m. However, federal assistance by phone or internet remains accessible to Mississippi survivors of the severe storms and flooding that took place from March 9-29, 2016.

Many services are available by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Survivors with questions regarding the application or the appeals process, or who need to register for assistance, may visit DisasterAssistance.gov or call (voice, 711 or relay service) 800-621-3362. (TTY users should call 800-462-7585.) The toll-free lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Survivors also can use the helpline to:

• Ask questions about a letter from FEMA.

• Learn how to appeal a FEMA decision. All applicants may appeal.

• Inquire about the status of a registration.

• Provide change of address, telephone and bank account numbers and insurance information to avoid disaster assistance processing delays.

• Receive information about FEMA home inspections.

• Get other questions answered about federal disaster assistance.

  Applicants should have their nine-digit FEMA registration number and ZIP code if they want to discuss their application.

  For the latest information on Mississippi disaster recovery operations, go online to msema.org and fema.gov/disaster/4268.

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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). If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is the federal government’s primary source of money to help business of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters rebuild and recover after a disaster. SBA low interest disaster loans repair and replace property losses not fully compensated by insurance and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.