Emergency financial assistance has been made available to Warren, Yazoo, Issaquena and other counties across the swath of north-central Mississippi that saw tornado damage during April and May storms.

Applications for aid must be made by June 18 to qualify for 2010 funding, said a conservationist with the National Resources Conservation Service.

“Individuals and communities in portions of Mississippi that sustained damages from tornadoes might be eligible for federal assistance from the (NRCS) through the special Emergency Tornado Assistance Initiative,” said Dr. Homer Wilkes.

NRCS has set aside $500,000 through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program to assist forestry farmers with replanting and site preparation of forestry areas and resources.

If all the funds are not used for forestry concerns, excess money will be made available to participants for land conservation structures, the NRCS said.

Funds can be used only for environmentally and economically sound measures and must benefit forestry and possibly sedimentation resources.

To request ETA Program assistance in Warren County, contact Raymond Joyner, district conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture NRCS office at 2660 Sherman Ave., or phone 601-636-7679, ext. 3.