MADISON, Miss. – Two months after tornadoes and severe storms hit communities across Mississippi, FEMA has helped more than 3,500 households with disaster assistance (as of May 26, 2023):
- More than $10.3 million in FEMA Individual and Households Program grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola and Sharkey counties. These grants help pay for uninsured and underinsured losses and storm-related damage, including:
- More than $6.3 million in housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing, and
- Nearly $4 million in Other Needs Assistance grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious storm-related needs—such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses.
Additionally, the Small Business Administration has approved more than $17.7 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and non-profit organizations -- to repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and to cover economic injury.
In total, federal support for households now totals more than $28 million.
Disaster Recovery Centers
The state and FEMA have staffed and operated six fixed-location Disaster Recovery Centers and six Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers, providing one-on-one assistance to survivors. The centers have tallied more than 7,600 visitors.
Disaster Survivor Assistance
Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams canvassed storm-impacted neighborhoods in every designated county. These teams went door-to-door in hard-hit neighborhoods, helping survivors apply for assistance. They visited homes, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. They helped people apply for assistance. They helped identify unmet needs. And they made referrals to other agencies and local nonprofits. DSA personnel visited more than 13,900 homes, interacting with more than 10,000 people.
Public Assistance
FEMA’s cost-sharing Public Assistance program includes reimbursing counties and municipalities for at least 75% of eligible costs of disaster-related debris removal. Contractors for county and city governments have cleared more than 1 million cubic yards of debris. Monitoring the work for FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that nearly 90% of that work has been completed, including 100% debris removal in Carroll, Montgomery and Panola counties.
For the latest information on recovery from Mississippi tornadoes, visit March 24 2023 Severe Weather Disaster Information - MEMA (msema.org) and www.fema.gov/disaster/4697. On Twitter follow MEMA @MSEMA and FEMA Region 4 @femaregion4).