Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update: Week 32 

Release Date: April 14, 2006
Release Number: 1604-318

» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina

BILOXI, Miss. -- Nearly eight months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to work closely with local and state organizations, as well as voluntary agencies to aid Mississippians in their recovery process.

Federal and state disaster officials provided the following summary of the ongoing assistance effort as of close of business April 12, 2006. Please see attached spreadsheet for county-specific information.

Total Assistance To date, FEMA has obligated more than $7.6 billion in federal funding to aid Mississippians through various Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs, including $3.1 billion in mission assignments, which FEMA tasked to other federal agencies.
National Flood
Insurance Program		 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.
Low Interest
Disaster Loans		 The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Program has approved more than $2.1 billion in low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and business owners throughout Mississippi.
Individuals and
Households		 More than $1.1 billion in assistance has been disbursed to nearly 273,000 Mississippi households that have registered through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP). The IHP consists of Housing Assistance, which may be used to pay for rent, repair or housing construction and Other Needs Assistance (ONA) which may be provided 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.
Infrastructure
Reimbursement		 The Public Assistance program has obligated more than $972 million for emergency work and infrastructure repair. This includes $499 million for debris removal, $223 million for emergency protective measures, $64 million to repair public facilities, $129 million to restore public utilities, $19 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks, $13 million to repair roads and bridges and $929,000 to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels.
Debris Removal Nearly 39 million cubic yards of debris has been removed from public and private property so far. The amount of debris removed to date in Mississippi would fill more than 390 football fields, stacked 50 feet high. FEMA continues to reimburse Mississippi 100 percent for this expense and will do so until June 30, 2006.>
Registrations Nearly 516,000 Mississippians registered for assistance through the FEMA toll-free number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired applicants or online at www.fema.gov.
Emergency Temporary
Housing		 Currently, more than 102,000 persons are temporarily housed in nearly 38,000 FEMA-provided travel trailers and mobile homes. This includes more than 2,400 units that are mobile homes fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or ADA-friendly travel trailers.
Update Now! Mississippians who applied for disaster assistance can update their contact or personal information or inquire about the status of application two easy ways. Applicants can call the toll-free FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 or access the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.

FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Last Modified: Monday, 17-Apr-2006 00:44:04