The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that five of its disaster recovery centers in Mississippi will be closing permanently, effective July 8.
The centers closing are in Hancock County, Madison County, Neshoba County, and Scott County along with one of two centers currently open in Hinds County, at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. State and federal officials will remain on site until 6 p.m. on the final day to help survivors of the April 8-11 severe storms and tornadoes apply for federal assistance, check the status of their applications, and answer any lingering questions.
Even though the five centers are closing, FEMA will remain on the ground in Mississippi with the following centers open until further notice.
Hinds County
Hinds County Public Works Department parking lot
10000 I-20 Frontage Road
Bolton, MS 39041
Humphreys County
Humphreys County Multipurpose Building
417 Silver City Road
Belzoni, MS 39038
FEMA officials are continuing to encourage impacted homeowners and renters apply for federal assistance, with the deadline to do so set for Aug. 9. So far, over $2.6 million has been granted in assistance.
“In this instance, some may have already done some repairs and already cleaned up after the storms – they’re still eligible,” FEMA’s Jeremy Slinker said. “And we just want to keep encouraging if you were impacted by this storm, don’t guess about whether you’re eligible or whether you have eligible storm damage. Apply, and the process will let you know what you’re eligible for. We have all different programs that cover a wide variety of different things.”
Survivors are not required to visit a disaster recovery center to apply for assistance. Other options include logging on to DisasterAssistance.gov, the FEMA mobile app, or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362.
