The disaster recovery center at 222 Lawrence Dr. in Columbus will close permanently at 6 p.m. today.
The center, along with a second location at 381 Stadium Rd. in the New Hope community, was opened by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the five tornadoes that came through Columbus and Lowndes County on April 28.
The New Hope location closed last week.
Thomas Kempton, spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said fewer and fewer people have been visiting the Lawrence Drive center. While the center was open, specialists from MEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration were on hand to answer questions.
Kempton told The Dispatch last week that nearly 400 people registered for aid at the two FEMA sites in the county. Kempton said the New Hope office had 360 visits that generated 125 registrations. The Lawrence Drive office had 441 visitors resulting in 174 registrations. More than 100 people were registered by field workers.
People affected by the storms can still register for FEMA Individual Assistance Online at disasterassistance.gov. They can also call 800-621-FEMA. The deadline for FEMA Individual Assistance is June 30.
Columbus residents can learn how to build or rebuild to reduce the likelihood of damage the next time tornadoes by meeting with FEMA mitigation specialists at Lowe’s today and Saturday, according to MEMA.
Specialists will be at Lowe’s at 2301 Woodmont Dr. until 6 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, according to MEMA.
Disaster recovery centers remain open at 826 S. Church Ave. in Louisville and at 320 Court St. in Tupelo, according to Kempton.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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