FEMA Forgives Gulfport’s $16M Disaster Loan

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to forgive a $16.4 million loan that Gulfport, Miss., received after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2005.

The Sun Herald reports that Mayor Billy Hewes notified Gulfport city council members about FEMA’s decision.

Gulfport had been setting aside money to repay the community disaster loan. Hewes says he and council members will discuss how that money can be used to cover other city expenses.

Gulfport and other Gulf Coast municipalities had previous loan-forgiveness requests denied before FEMA changed its rules in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of the East Coast in 2012.

A letter from a FEMA official said Gulfport had demonstrated that the city incurred a total loss of nearly $30 million from Katrina.