How to Get Help With Electricity, Food and Shelter After Hurricane Ida — and How to Help Those in Need

As homes, businesses and communities work to recover, here’s where to go for information and assistance — and opportunities to help those who have been affected:

• Call 911 in the event of an emergency.

• The Mississippi Insurance Department has tips for how and when to get in touch with your insurance provider, meet with an adjuster and file paperwork. For help filing a claim, call the department at 800-562-2957 or email consumer@mid.ms.gov.

• The Mississippi State Department of Health has a list of tutorials related to severe weather preparation, mosquito prevention, wound care and hurricane recovery.

• Report abuse, neglect or financial exploitation to the Adult Protective Services Vulnerable Person Hotline at 844-437-6282.

• The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies has set up a disability and disaster hotline at 800-626-4959.

• Consult the AARP 50+ Emergency Preparedness Checklist, whether you plan to evacuate or shelter in place.

• Check the Mississippi Power outage map or the PowerOutage.us map to see which areas are affected.

• Use GasBuddy’s interactive fuel map to see which stations have run out of fuel and which are still selling gas.

• Fill out the anonymous questionnaire on DisasterAssistance.gov for information about federal grants, loans and other resources that may be available.

• If you’re uninsured — or if your insurance doesn’t cover damage related to the hurricane — apply for disaster assistance through FEMA. If you have homeowner or renter insurance, FEMA recommends filing a claim with your provider ASAP.

• Check the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s traffic and road closure tool or download the MDOT Traffic App to plan a route to or from your home.

• If you need to evacuate, read the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s 2021 hurricane evacuation guide.

• The Mississippi State Department of Health recommends you avoid floodwater if possible and to dispose of any food, medicines, cosmetics or bottled water that may have come into contact with it. The department also suggests getting in touch with a contractor for mold removal or prevention if your home flooded.

• Call the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency at 888-574-3583 or your emergency management office to find an emergency shelter near you. The agency says that masks must be worn at all shelters to protect against COVID-19 and that face coverings will be provided to those who don’t have one.

• The Mississippi State Department of Health’s medical needs shelter offers refuge for residents with medical support needs during emergencies. It’s located at 1640 Coy Ave., Wiggins, Mississippi 39577.

• The American Red Cross has opened shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi. Call 211 or 800-733-2767, or go to the Red Cross website to find a shelter near you. You can also download the Red Cross emergency or hurricane apps on your smartphone.

• Find or donate to a food bank through the Feeding the Gulf Coast partnership.

• Fill out the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Network’s information sheet if you need help cleaning and rebuilding or if you need clean bedding, clothes, toiletries, medical supplies, baby or pet supplies, or help translating documents for flood insurance. You can also email mutualaiddisasterrelief@gmail.com.

• The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is sending thousands of sandbags and bottles of water and hundreds of tarps and other supplies to affected counties. Contact your county emergency management office or call the state’s hurricane hotline at 888-574-3583 if you need help or supplies.

• Donate to Volunteer Mississippi’s response and recovery fund.

• GoFundMe has a centralized page for all verified campaigns to help people hit by Hurricane Ida.

• The American Red Cross is collecting cash donations to fund emergency response and recovery efforts.

• Read AARP's emergency preparedness checklist for the 50+

• How to help and get help after a hurricane in Louisiana