PEARL, Miss. – A disaster recovery center is now open in Quitman County to provide assistance to survivors of the severe storms and flooding that began March 9, 2016.

Recovery centers are run jointly by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Representatives of state, federal and voluntary agencies are set up in the center to explain the various programs designed to help survivors recover.

The Quitman County center is located at the Marks Fire Department, 108 W. Main St,

Marks, MS 38646.

The center is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays until further notice. Centers are now open at:

Anyone affected by the storms and flooding in a designated county may visit any of the centers. Survivors can locate the nearest center by visiting fema.gov/drc or by calling the FEMA helpline.

If possible, survivors with disaster-related losses are encouraged to register for assistance before going to the disaster recovery center by calling FEMA’s helpline at 800-621-3362, which is video relay service accessible. Survivors who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have difficulty speaking may call TTY 800-462-7585.

Helpline hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, seven days a week until further notice. Survivors can also register online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Homeowners, renters and business owners can apply for low-interest disaster loans at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. SBA representatives are available at the disaster recovery centers to answer questions and help survivors complete their disaster loan applications. Questions can also be answered by calling the SBA disaster customer service center at 800-659-2955 or (TTY) 800-877-8339 for the deaf or hard of hearing, or by 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.

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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). 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.