More counties are now eligible for disaster assistance

Forrest County, Miss. - Governor Phil Bryant officially announced Thursday that 11 additional counties have been added to the state's recent disaster declaration.

Officials said FEMA should come sometime next week and will have all the necessary federal agencies to help people who are in need.

Hattiesburg Mayor, Johnny DuPree said, "Many of the local citizens had their assessment done already and if you haven't had your assessment done doesn't mean that you can't. You need to call that number and get on the list. And this would be for uninsured, because there's many out there who don't have flood insurance. So this would be uninsured and under-insured if you didn't have enough. Don't think you're not eligible, let them tell you you're not eligible. Make the call and let them make the call for you."

The counties that are now eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program are Clarke, Forrest, Greene, Jones, Marion, Panola, Perry, Quitman, Sunflower, Tunica, and Wayne. With that being said, more counties could be added, pending further damage assessments.

FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program helps eligible applicants with stuff like:

• Temporary housing assistance.

• Uninsured or under-insured personal property losses.

• Medical, dental and funeral expenses caused by the disaster.

• Other disaster-related expenses or serious needs.

• Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are available to cover residential and business losses not covered by insurance.

A disaster recovery center will be opening up sometime next week but officials have not decided where the exact location will be.

If you need to contact FEMA, you can call 800-621-3362.