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- MEMA will provide grants for 38 selections in each county in Mississippi through FEMA’s the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Mississippians face several threats annually from natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
To provide protection to ride out those storms, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is accepting applications for a safe room grant program that will provide reimbursements up to 75 percent of the cost of construction to just over 3,000 homeowners statewide.
Funding comes from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program through FEMA.
The maximum a homeowner can be reimbursed is $3,500, and they will be required to pay for all cost up front.
Applications are being accepted until November 30, and approvals will be issued based on the results of a lottery, not on a first come, first serve basis.
“All Mississippians will have an equal chance to be awarded the residential safe room grant,” MEMA stated.
A total of 38 grants will be provided within each of the state’s 82 counties. If not all are claimed in the first round, a second round lottery will be held statewide to assign the remainder of the grants.
This program is for the new construction of a safe room. The safe room can be built above ground, below ground or partially above ground. Residents who apply for this grant are advised not to construct a safe room for reimbursement until approval is granted.
“If you install the safe room without approval, you will be disqualified and won’t be eligible for reimbursement,” MEMA added.
Qualifying safe rooms should have a maximum wind speed rating of at least 250 miles per hour, be no more than 150 feet from an exterior door of the home, be sealed by a state licensed engineer, and be constructed by a state licensed contractor.
Residents will not be allowed to install the shelter themselves, and the safe room cannot accommodate more than 16 people.
To qualify, an applicant must own the home where the shelter will be built, and it must be their primary residence. If the intended location for the shelter is for a mobile or manufactured home, the homeowner must also own the land.
Residents who rent or live in duplexes or in apartments are not qualified.
If a resident’s application is approved, they will be notified via email. Applicants are advised to check spam folders for communications. Emails will only be sent to those whose application was approved.
The only way to submit an application is online here.
Jeremy Pittari
