PEARL, Miss. (MEMA) – The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to respond to Ida, which is currently a tropical depression. This tropical system made landfall Sunday, August 29, 2021 near Port Fourchon, Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph.
Ida brought considerable impacts to Mississippi beginning Sunday, August 29 through Tuesday, August 31. Heavy rain resulted in flooding across the state and strong winds caused widespread power outages. Sadly, there have been two confirmed fatalities in George County as a result of the storm.
MEMA continues to work directly with the counties to assess immediate needs. In addition to the 154,000 sandbags distributed prior to the storm, MEMA has also sent over 4,000 bottles of water, 15,000 additional sandbags and 400 tarps to impacted counties.
If residents need immediate resources, they are encouraged to contact their county EMA director. Impacted individuals can also call MEMA’s Hurricane Ida hotline at 1-888-574-3583 from 8 AM to 7 PM on weekdays for assistance.
Mississippians who experienced structural damage to their homes are able to submit damage reports online using MEMA’s self-report tool. Please note that this is strictly a data-collection tool to help conduct damage assessments and NOT an application for financial assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions Following a Disaster:
- My food spoiled during a power outage, can I get reimbursed? No, MEMA does not provide reimbursement for food spoiling during a natural disaster.
- Where can I get money to fix damage to my home? Financial assistance is available to homeowners and renters ONLY if a federal disaster declaration for Individual Assistance is approved by the president. Federal financial assistance is never a guarantee. If you need immediate help finding a tarp for your roof, call you county emergency management agency office or the MEMA hotline at 1-888-574-3583.
- I need help repairing damage to my home. What do I do? First, take pictures of the damage for documentation purposes. Second, call your insurance provider to file a claim. If you do not have insurance, please contact the MEMA hotline at 1-888-574-3583 for assistance.
- I want to help with Hurricane Ida relief efforts. How can I do that? If you would like to volunteer, register at gulfcoasthub.org. You can also email volunteer@mgccf.org or call 228-265-7910 for more information. Volunteers should NOT self-deploy.
Additional resources and information regarding storm response and recovery can be found on MEMA’s website.