Assistance to storm victims tops $5M

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Two months since tornadoes and severe storms ripped through Attala, Choctaw, Holmes, Issaquena, Oktibbeha, Union, Warren and Yazoo counties, aid to those areas has topped $5 million.

More than 1,900 registrations have been received so far for state, FEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) assistance.

“Progress towards recovery can be measured every day,” said federal coordinating officer Michael Bolch.

Here is a summary of the approved assistance by county, which includes Individual Assistance grants, Public Assistance and MEMA and FEMA housing programs:

• Attala: 170 applications for Individuals and Households Program for $258, 811.51. Three approved Public Assistance projects for $23,854.99

• Choctaw: 201 applications for $441,693.19. Seven MEMA cottages have been sold to residents and 17 FEMA disaster housing units were installed in the county. Six approved Public Assistance projects for $62,125.36

• Holmes: 421 applications for $1,048,496.46. Four FEMA disaster housing units were installed in the county

• Issaquena: One approved Public Assistance project for $2,532.98

• Monroe: 67 applications for $32,970.55. Two Public Assistance projects for $16,192.33

• Oktibbeha: 69 applications for $85, 695.65

• Union: 21 applications for $6,789.16

• Warren: 41 applications for $31,615.92. Two approved Public Assistance projects for $32,884.77

• Yazoo: 768 applications for $1,366,017.07. Eight MEMA cottages have been sold to residents along with 13 FEMA disaster housing units installed in the county. Three approved Public Assistance projects for $15,677.97.

In addition to Individual and Public Assistance projects, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and their contractors, have been removing debris in affected counties over the past two months. The amounts of debris removed so far are listed below in tons:

• Attala: 390.3

• Choctaw: 3,750.9

• Holmes: 535.2

• Monroe: 966.5

• Yazoo City: 2,538.4

• Yazoo: 33,481.4

he SBA has received more than 160 applications and approved nearly $2.1 million in loans.

To sign up for Mississippi Business Daily Updates, click here.