Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has requested a federal disaster declaration from the White House to cover nine counties that suffered damage from severe weather, tornadoes and flooding on April 30.
Assistance has been requested for Holmes and Montgomery counties following joint preliminary damage assessments conducted by local officials, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Damage assessments confirmed 112 homes in the two counties were destroyed or sustained major damage, and homeowners had no insurance.
Public assistance is also being requested for Adams, Calhoun, Carroll, Claiborne, Holmes, Jefferson, Montgomery, Webster and Yazoo counties to reimburse local governments and non-profits for damaged infrastructure, debris removal and overtime pay for responders.
If the request is granted, additional counties may be added to the declaration pending further damage assessments.
“With more than 25 counties reporting some form of damage on April 30, this was truly a widespread severe weather event,” said Gov. Bryant. “Most of the survivors will need federal assistance to help them rebuild and recover, and the counties I’ve requested were the hardest hit.”
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Volunteer response center closes,long-term recovery begins
The Holmes County Volunteer Response Center (VRC) in Durant, located in the old Mississippi Armory, closed last Friday, May 12.
Long Term Recovery, which will operate at Durant Missionary Baptist Church, 16455 North Jackson Street, will take over trying to fill nearly 200 outstanding work orders that were unclaimed during the crisis cleanup period. efforts will begin at this time.
For more information about the recovery efforts in Holmes County or about Volunteer Mississippi’s Disaster Program contact Adrian Austin, Disaster Volunteer Management Officer, at aaustin@ihl.state.ms.us or by calling (601) 624-9593.
Help for farmers and small businesses
The USDA has several programs that provide assistance before, during and after disasters to farmers and small businesses.
“We want you to know that USDA resources are at your disposal,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “USDA has people on the ground, in every county, who can help you. We will do everything we can to help farmers get those fields back in order and encourage them to take advantage of these USDA resources.”
USDA Rural Development can assist with providing priority hardship application processing for single family housing. If a disaster designation is declared, the agency can issue a priority letter for next available multi-family housing units.
While these programs do not normally have disaster assistance authority, many of the programs can provide financial relief to small businesses hit by natural disasters, including low-interest loans to community facilities, water environmental programs, businesses and cooperatives, and to rural utilities.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers many safety-net programs to help producers recover from eligible losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) and the Tree Assistance Program. The FSA Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters. Producers located in counties that received a primary or contiguous disaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses. Compensation also is available to producers who purchased coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting.
USDA encourages farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn what documents can help the local office expedite assistance, such as farm records, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.
For declared natural disasters that lead to imminent threats to life and property, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can assist local government sponsors with the cost of implementing recovery efforts like debris. NRCS staff is coordinating with state partners to complete damage assessments in preparation for sponsor assistance requests. NRCS also can help producers with damaged agricultural lands caused by natural disasters such as floods.
For complete details and eligibility requirements regarding USDA’s disaster assistance programs, contact a local USDA Service Center or visit the USDA Disaster Resource Center website.
