Despite conflicting information circulating through the area, the Individual Safe Room program is not available in Mississippi.
Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center Director Allan Pratt told Supervisors during a regular meeting on April 28 local residents are reporting that they are being told by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel at the Montgomery County Coliseum they can apply for personal storm shelters.
“The program has not been opened for Mississippi,” said Pratt. “Other states can get it; we can’t. It’s not available in Mississippi.”
The program will be available in this state at some point in the future, according to Pratt, but he did not have a specific date.According to a statement released by Malary White, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Chief Communications officer, the Individual Safe Room, or personal storm shelter, program which was launched in August 2022 is closed.
“MEMA staff is now processing nearly 2,000 applications. Through this process FEMA has requested additional information from applications,” White stated.
As of April 2023, Mississippi still awaited FEMA’s decision to approve the 2022 applications.
“At this time, we are not taking anymore safe room applications,” stated White. “All safe rooms must be complete before MEMA launches the next safe room program application period.”
Pratt said people in this area were not eligible to sign up for the 2022 program, which was designated for residents in north Mississippi who suffered damage during a storm last year.
When the program opens again in Mississippi, the shelters will not be free.
“You pay all that up front, and they reimburse you,” said Pratt. “It’s a grant process to the landowner. The people that rent can’t get them.”
