strong>PEARL, Miss. (MEMA) – The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to support response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Ida, which made landfall Sunday, August 29, 2021, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph.
MEMA is working alongside county EMA officials to help expedite the damage assessment process. The latest initial reports indicate that a total of 380 homes were impacted. Of that total, five were “destroyed” and 42 had “major” damage. Initial reports also show 133 public roads and 73 bridges were impacted across the State.
These are initial numbers and are likely to change in the upcoming days. MEMA will continue to work directly with the counties to complete initial damage assessments. The State has 30 days from August 31 to request federal assistance.
Video of damage assessments in Jackson County can be found here.
If residents need immediate resources, they can contact their county EMA director or call MEMA’s Hurricane Ida hotline at 1-888-574-3583 Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 7 PM for assistance. Louisiana residents sheltering in Mississippi can call 1-800-621-3362 for FEMA assistance or 1-800-755-5175 for additional shelter and resource information. More information about available resources for Louisiana residents can be found here.
Additionally, MEMA continues to fulfill resource requests from the counties. Throughout the entirety of this event, MEMA has distributed a total of 203,000 sandbags, 151,200 bottles of water, 850 tarps and 1,044 meals to support Hurricane Ida response efforts across the State.
Mississippians who experienced damage to their homes should document the damage via pictures and file an insurance claim. Residents are also encouraged to submit damage reports to their County EMA Director or online using MEMA’s self-report tool. Please note that MEMA’s self-report tool is strictly a data-collection tool to help conduct damage assessments and NOT an application for financial assistance.
As the recovery process begins, please keep in mind these debris removal guidelines:
Additional resources and information regarding storm response and recovery can be found on MEMA’s website.