Miss. Residents Have One Month Remaining to Apply for Disaster Aid

Mississippi residents and business owners in the 49 disaster-declared counties who sustained damage due to Hurricane Katrina have four weeks to apply for disaster assistance through the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Jan. 11, 2006 is the last day applications will be accepted for Individual Assistance. Loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for disaster-related losses to real and personal property must also be submitted by that date.

“We want people to understand that this deadline is for new disaster applications,” said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer. “For individuals who have already applied, their cases will continue to be processed. New applications will not be accepted after the Jan. 11, 2006 deadline.”

Federal and state disaster recovery officials urge those who have not done so to apply as soon as possible by calling the toll-free application number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired. Individuals may also register for disaster assistance online at www.fema.gov.

To date, more than 511,000 individuals and households have reportedly registered for disaster assistance in Mississippi.

More than $937 million in disaster funds has been approved for individuals and households impacted by the disaster as well as more than $496 million in disaster loans through the SBA disaster assistance program.