Mississippi homeowners and renters who sustained damage to their primary property from the March 24 to 25 severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes have just 10 days left to apply for federal assistance. The deadline is May 25.

FEMA assistance for individuals affected by the March storms may cover rental assistance, temporary housing, home repairs, personal property losses and other disaster-related needs. FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is non-taxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid or other benefits.

Homeowners and renters in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola and Sharkey counties can apply for assistance in the following ways:

• Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. The helpline is open and help is available from 6 a.m. to midnight Central Time daily in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Visit a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). To find a center closest to you, go online to: fema.gov/drc.
• Download the free FEMA mobile app for smartphones.

Disaster assistance is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster. The assistance is intended to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts.

The May 25 deadline also applies to applications for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA 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, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repair or rebuilding efforts and covers the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property.

Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained from the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, go to https://youtu.be/LU7wzRjByhI.

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).