Storm Assistance Site Open Next Week At Velma
YALOBUSHA COUNTY — Recovery efforts from Winter Storm Fern will continue next week as the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) brings a Disaster Survivor Assistance site to Yalobusha County. Yalobusha is one of 36 counties in Mississippi approved for individual assistance through Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Yalobusha EMA Director Stewart Spence reported a Disaster Survivor Assistance team will be set up at the Velma Fire Department from Monday, May 11, through Friday, May 15, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. At the site, residents can receive in-person help with FEMA registration, learn about available assistance programs and be connected with additional recovery resources. The effort is being coordinated by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in partnership with federal and local agencies. Individual assistance may include grants for home repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs designed to help individuals and business owners recover.
The assistance comes as communities across North Mississippi continue to recover from Winter Storm Fern. The storm coated roads and bridges with ice, downed thousands of trees and power lines and left an estimated 180,000 customers without electricity at its peak.
Residents who experienced losses during the Jan. 23–27 storm are encouraged to apply for assistance. Applications can be completed online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362, in addition to receiving in-person assistance at the Velma site. The disaster number is DR-4899.
The counties eligible for assistance include Adams, Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Claiborne, Coahoma, DeSoto, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Marshall, Montgomery, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Warren, Washington, Yalobusha and Yazoo.
