Unemployment assistance is available to Mississippians in 36 counties impacted by Winter Storm Fern.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security announced Thursday that disaster unemployment assistance is available for residents in the following: Adams, Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Claiborne, Coahoma, DeSoto, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Marshall, Montgomery, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Warren, Washington, Yalobusha, and Yazoo counties, along with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
Those potentially eligible for aid are individuals who live or work in one of the affected counties and could not work because of major destruction that occurred between Jan. 23-27. Anyone who matches the criteria is entitled to apply and may be allowed to receive unemployment benefits.
Self-employed individuals living or working in the affected areas, those unable to commute to work at the time of the disaster, and those who became unemployed as a result of the disaster may also qualify for relief.
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Other qualifications include those who:
- Were unemployed for at least one week after the date of the disaster
- Became the income provider or major support for a household because of the disaster-related death of the head of the household
- Cannot work because of an injury caused as a direct result of the disaster
- Could not work or lost work as a result of physical damage or destruction of a business; or unable to work because of the physical inaccessibility of the place of employment due to its closure
- Were scheduled to have started work and does not have the job as direct result of the disaster.
Applications can be submitted online at all hours or by calling (601) 493-9428 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The deadline to apply for unemployment assistance is June 9.
Winter Storm Fern impacted over half of Mississippi, destroying trees and power lines, leaving roughly 180,000 customers without power at its peak, and killing 29. As of late February, more than 12,000 insurance claims had been filed totaling over $107 million, according to the Mississippi Insurance Department.
