Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update: Week 36 

To date, FEMA has obligated more than $7.7 billion in federal funding to aid Mississippians through various Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs, including $3.1 billion in mission assignments. Mission assignments are work orders FEMA issues to other federal agencies requesting that they complete specific tasks during response and recovery, such as emergency medical assistance and debris removal. More than $1 billion has been obligated to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard for debris removal.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Program has approved more than $2.3 billion in low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and business owners throughout Mississippi. The SBA is encouraging everyone ready to build and whose loan application has been approved to call its Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or email them at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov to arrange for a loan closing. Small business owners hit by Hurricane Katrina may apply for economic injury disaster loans until May 29.

This week, the state of Mississippi's "Stay Alert. Stay Alive." hurricane awareness campaign encourages Mississippi businesses to prepare for any kind of disaster by developing a continuity of operations plan, or COOP. A well-thought- out and continually updated COOP can help a company get back into business quickly. To learn more about what goes into business disaster planning, go to www.FloodSmart.gov or www.msmema.org.

Residents without personal transportation in case of an evacuation should call MEMA's Evacuation Transportation Survey phone line before the May 26 deadline. Residents in George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Stone and Pearl River counties should call 1-866-647-0966 or (TTY) 1-228-385-5769 for the speech- or hearing-impaired. The toll-free number is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

More than $1.2 billion in assistance has been disbursed to more than 273,000 Mississippi households that have registered through FEMA's Individuals and Households Program (IHP). The lion's share went to Housing Assistance, used to pay for rent, repair or housing construction. The second category, Other Needs Assistance (ONA), can be used for uninsured or under-insured disaster-related necessary expenses. ONA is a cost-share program which is 75 percent federally funded, 25 percent state funded. And, more than 97% of applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance have been approved.

More than 102,000 people are housed temporarily in nearly 38,000 FEMA-provided travel trailers and mobile homes, including the more than 2,800 units compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Public Assistance program has obligated more than $1 billion for emergency work and infrastructure repair. This includes $533 million for debris removal, $234 million for emergency protective measures, $95 million to repair public facilities, $145 million to restore public utilities, $33.8 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks, $14.8 million to repair roads and bridges and $949,000 to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels. This week, 3 grants totaling $21.62 million were approved to assist with MEMA's accounting oversight and repairs to the Hancock County Port & Harbor and the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

More than 41 million cubic yards of debris have been removed from public and private property so far. As the May 15 deadline approaches for FEMA-financed removal of concrete slab debris placed curbside, operations for the entire state of Mississippi are nearly 96 percent complete.

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has paid more than $2.1 billion in flood insurance claims to policyholders in Mississippi. The NFIP plays a critical role in encouraging communities to adopt, implement and enforce broader floodplain-management regulations and programs.

Mississippians who applied for disaster assistance can update their contact or personal information or inquire about the status of their application two easy ways: by calling the toll-free FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 or accessing the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.