Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update: Week 35
Release Date: May 5, 2006
Release Number: 1604-349
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BILOXI, Miss. -- As Mississippi moves into the ninth month following 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 assist Mississippians in their recovery process.
Federal and state disaster officials provided the following summary of the ongoing assistance effort as of close of business May 3. The attached spreadsheets provide county-specific information pertaining to the Public Assistance and Individuals Assistance programs. Number of Projects and Total Public Assistance Funding Obligated by County As of: March 4, 2006 (DOC 445KB) and Amount Approved under Individuals and Households Program (XLS 30KB)
| Total Assistance | 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 $926.9 million has been obligated to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for debris removal. |
| National Flood Insurance Program |
FEMA's National Flood Insurance program (NFIP) has paid more than $2.3 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. |
| "Stay Alert. Stay Alive." |
In the fourth week of Mississippi's "Stay Alert. Stay Alive." hurricane preparedness campaign, FEMA and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) are encouraging Mississippians to focus on the need for flood insurance. Only flood insurance protects against out-of-pocket expenses brought on by this nation's most common natural disaster. Residents can learn more about protecting their property by going to www.FloodSmart.gov or www.msmema.org. |
| Hurricane Evacuation Transportation Survey |
Residents of the six lower counties without personal transportation in case of an evacuation should call MEMA's Evacuation Transportation Survey phone line before May 26. 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. |
| Low Interest Disaster Loans |
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Program has approved more than $2.27 billion in low-interest loans for over 32,000 homeowners, renters and business owners throughout Mississippi. |
| Individuals and Households |
Nearly $1.2 billion in assistance has been disbursed to more than 273,000 Mississippi households 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. |
| Temporary Housing |
More than 102,000 people are temporarily housed in nearly 38,000 FEMA-provided travel trailers and mobile homes. This includes more than 2,700 units that are mobile homes fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or ADA-friendly travel trailers. |
| Infrastructure Reimbursement |
The Public Assistance program has obligated more than $1 billion for emergency work and infrastructure repair. This includes $533 million for debris removal, $233 million for emergency protective measures, $95 million to repair public facilities, $144 million to restore public utilities, $33 million to restore public recreational facilities such as state parks, $14.7 million to repair roads and bridges and $939,000 to repair water control devices such as reservoirs and irrigation channels. |
| Debris Removal | More than 40.6 million cubic yards of debris has been removed from public and private property so far. This leaves less than 3.6 million cubic yards to go. Debris removal operations for the entire state of Mississippi are approximately 92 percent complete. |
| Update Now! | The 516,000 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 website 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: Friday, 05-May-2006 16:09:23