FEMA, SBA offer last in-person help for Winter Storm Fern aid
Harmontown hosted the last walk-in aid session before June 10, with FEMA and SBA still helping Fern survivors seek grants and loans worth up to $2 million.
With the June 10 cutoff looming, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration staged one last face-to-face help session for Winter Storm Fern survivors at the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Harmontown Substation. The two-day stop ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., accepted walk-ins, and did not require an appointment or Lafayette County residency, giving residents in Harmontown, Como and beyond a final chance to ask about aid before the window closed.
The stakes were not small. FEMA assistance for the January 23-27 storm could still help with home repairs and temporary housing, while SBA physical disaster loans could cover up to $500,000 to repair or replace a primary residence, up to $100,000 for damaged personal property, and up to $2 million for business physical losses. SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program remained available until January 11, 2027 for working capital needs tied to the disaster, but the physical-damage deadline for homeowners, renters and businesses expired June 10.
Applicants could file with FEMA online, through the FEMA app or by calling 1-800-621-3362, and they could also get in-person help at a Disaster Recovery Center. To keep a case from stalling, FEMA says survivors should have a current phone number, the damaged-property address and ZIP code, a mailing address if they were displaced, Social Security numbers, insurance information and a general list of losses; if FEMA cannot verify identity, occupancy or ownership through public records, it may ask for additional documents. SBA disaster borrowers also had to complete IRS Form 4506-C so the agency could request tax transcripts.
The deadline landed after a long recovery tail that reached far beyond one county line. MEMA said that by June 9 more than 84,000 Mississippians had registered for assistance, all 82 counties had been approved for some level of FEMA Public Assistance, and more than $37 million had already been obligated to local governments, with another $223 million in projects still under FEMA review. Lafayette County was later added to Public Assistance eligibility, and the Mississippi Legislature created a 2026 local government disaster recovery emergency loan program to help counties and municipalities bridge cash flow while FEMA reimbursements move forward.
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