PEARL, Miss. – Mississippi’s request for federal public assistance for FEMA Disaster 4598 has been approved by President Biden. Throughout the week of February 11-19, 2021, Mississippi experienced multiple rounds of winter weather resulting in an estimated $25 million worth of damage to public infrastructure.
The following 31 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are now eligible to apply for federal public assistance through this major disaster declaration: Adams, Attala, Choctaw, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Grenada, Hinds, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Kemper, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Tallahatchie, Walthall, Warren, Winston and Yazoo.
Now that the Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance has been approved, eligible counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians must submit specific projects to FEMA. In order to receive federal financial assistance, FEMA must approve the projects submitted by local governments, tribes and/or certain nonprofits through the application process.
To begin the application process for federal public assistance, local governments, states, tribes, territories and certain private nonprofits can visit: https://grantee.fema.gov. The deadline to apply is June 3, 2021.
The purpose of the Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program is to support communities recover from major disasters by providing them with grant assistance for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures, and restoring public infrastructure.
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