Disaster Recovery Officials Work To Get People Closer To Home
Release Date: October 17, 2005
Release Number: 1604-074
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
JACKSON, Miss. -- Finding temporary housing solutions as close to home as possible was a key priority set forth by Mississippi’s state leadership in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Dept. of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) have tirelessly cooperated toward reaching that end, with great success.
“Our belief is that people whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina will want to, and should be close to home. They want to keep their lives similar to the way they were before the hurricane,” said Robert Latham, Executive Director of MEMA.
To date, nearly 21,000 Mississippians have been provided temporary housing by FEMA and the state. More than 171,000 have received rental assistance checks in the same zip code that they listed as their pre-storm residence.
FEMA has provided more than 7,400 trailers and of these, more than 4,000 have been placed on private properties. Some evacuees have chosen to occupy travel trailers on commercial sites, and many of these are also in the same zip code as their previous residence.
Emergency Group Sites are being created by FEMA. Currently four of these sites are open in Hancock, Harrison and Pearl River Counties. Additional sites will begin development in two other counties within the next five days. Forty additional sites are under review.
The temporary housing needs following Katrina are historic. In Mississippi alone, the housing need is projected to be three times greater than the need for housing in Florida after last year’s hurricane season.
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of Mississippi are aggressively using all appropriate options to provide safe, sanitary shelter and temporary housing for people affected by the storm,” said Nick Russo, FEMA deputy federal coordinating officer. “Some of their options include rental assistance, travel trailers, mobile homes, cruise ship berths and tents.”
It is important for anyone with a housing need to first register with FEMA at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). TTY 1-800-462-7585 is available for those with speech or hearing impairments. Those who have already registered can make their housing needs known at any Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) or by calling the helpline 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
NEARLY 7,500 FAMILIES OUT OF SHELTERS AND INTO TEMPORARY HOUSING
(COB Oct. 16)
- 7,488 families have moved into temporary manufactured housing provided by the government.
- Approximately 400 families are being placed in travel trailers or mobile homes daily.
- Over 4,000 families are now living in travel trailers on private sites.
- 230 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant mobile homes have been made available for those who express a need and qualify.
- Some manufactured homes are placed in emergency group sites identified by local officials and others are placed in commercial sites. Some are placed, if possible, on the evacuee’s own property or other private property.
- 1,205 persons are living temporarily on the cruise ship Holiday.
- The cruise ship is currently docked in Mobile, AL but will be moving to a port at Pascagoula as soon as it is safe to do so.
- The cruise ship provides shuttle service to Mississippi and within Mobile for work, doctor’s appointments and other transportation needs.
- 3 tent camps are in development for Pass Christian, Long Beach and D’Iberville.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 18-Oct-2005 13:32:11