Quitman County residents can apply for storm disaster unemployment assistance

A missed paycheck after January’s winter storm can now turn into federal relief for Quitman County households, but the window to act closes soon. MDES says residents who live or work in Quitman County, along with people in Marks, Crowder, Lambert and Falcon, may apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance through Tuesday, June 9, 2026, as part of a program covering 36 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

DUA is not regular unemployment. MDES says the benefit is for employment or self-employment lost or interrupted directly by a presidentially declared disaster, and a claimant must first be found ineligible for regular unemployment insurance under state or federal law before DUA can be approved. The storm tied to this aid was the severe winter weather that hit Mississippi from January 23-27, 2026, and MDES set the Disaster Assistance Period from January 25, 2026, through August 8, 2026.

Eligibility reaches beyond laid-off payroll workers. MDES says people may qualify if they were unemployed for at least one week after the disaster, became the main source of income for a household because of a disaster-related death, could not work because of an injury caused directly by the storm, lost work because a business was physically damaged or a workplace was inaccessible, or were scheduled to start a job but could not because of the disaster. Self-employed residents who were living or working in the affected area when the storm hit may also qualify.

Residents can apply online 24 hours a day through MDES or call 601-493-9428 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. MDES says people filing an unemployment claim should have their Social Security number, work history for the past 18 months, current contact information, driver’s license or state ID, and Social Security card ready; noncitizens also need an alien registration number or visa number. If home internet is a problem, MDES says people can use public library computers or WIN Job Center computers to register and file.

For Quitman County, the aid offers a practical bridge between storm cleanup and a return to steady work, especially for hourly employees, self-employed workers and families still catching up after the weather knocked out schedules and income across the county.