Forrest County flood damages need to meet a $283,000 Threshold

FORREST COUNTY, MISS. – Residents in South and Central Mississippi spent the day picking up pieces left behind after multiple flash floods caused an extensive amount of damage. “We had 71 houses that were affected,” Petal’s mayor, Hal Marx said. Currently, county and city officials are working together to come up with an estimated dollar amount for the total damage done by the flash floods. “We got several damaged roads,” Forrest County Emergency Management director, Glen Moore said. “We got a couple of bridges that are damaged… [etc.].” “The threshold for Forrest County was around $283,000,” Marx said. “I believe in Petal alone, when you look at the damage to our infrastructure we are going to be very close to that number. I believe that we are going to be over $250,000 in damages just here in Petal.” If Forrest County meets it’s $283,000 threshold, the county will be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). However, Forrest County does not believe that it will qualify for private-sector reimbursement. “Hopefully, their insurance will cover it,” Marx said. “We did have several businesses that had some water damage.” Marx advises homeowners and local businesses to reach out to charitable organizations, such as R3SM and see if they can offer any assistance.