FEMA opens local office

By Staff
September 25, 2004
By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
A Disaster Recovery Center opened Friday in Lauderdale County at Meridian's Training Center on Sandflat Road.
Lauderdale and Clarke county residents in Mississippi, along with residents in neighboring Alabama who were affected by Hurricane Ivan, can visit the center to see if they qualify for federal assistance.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state of Mississippi, the Department of Human Services, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other agencies will staff the center from 8 a.m.-6 p.m daily to answer questions and help residents.
The center is at 1180 Sandflat Road.
Radcliffe said people should first call and apply for assistance by phone at (800) 621-3362 before visiting the center.
Before calling, FEMA officials asks residents who may have suffered damage to have their Social Security number, address and zip code of the damaged property and telephone numbers where they can be reached.
Officials also urge people to call their insurance companies and the FEMA hotline before going to the center.
Radcliffe also said DHS representatives will be on hand to answer questions for people who may have lost groceries because of lost power.
And Eddie Ivy, training coordinator for Meridian's Department of Homeland Security, said help also is available for workers who were affected by the storm.
Ivy said DHS representatives will help answer questions about workers in Clarke, Greene and Lauderdale counties who were unable to work because of the hurricane. Those residents can apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance through the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.