Mississippi storm victims have until Aug. 31 to seek disaster unemployment aid
Workers and self-employed residents in five Mississippi counties who lost work because of the May 6-7 storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds or flooding have until Monday, August 31, 2026, to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security says the program may help people whose unemployment was directly caused by the disaster. Claims are reviewed individually, so living or working in one of the covered counties does not guarantee payment.
Five counties are covered
DUA is available to eligible applicants connected to:
- Franklin County
- Lamar County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln County
- Wilkinson County
The counties were included in a major disaster declaration issued June 30, 2026, after severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding affected Mississippi on May 6-7.
Who may qualify
MDES says applicants generally must have been unemployed for at least one week after the disaster and must show that the loss of work resulted from the storm-related event.
Potentially eligible situations include:
- A workplace or business was physically damaged or destroyed.
- A workplace was closed or inaccessible because of disaster damage.
- Flooding, debris or other disaster conditions prevented someone from traveling to work.
- A person could not work because of a disaster-related injury.
- A scheduled job start was canceled or prevented by the disaster.
- A self-employed person became unemployed because of the disaster.
- A person became the primary income provider or major household support after the disaster-related death of a household head.
Self-employed workers are not automatically excluded from the program. They must still meet the applicable eligibility requirements and show the connection between the disaster and their unemployment.
Application period and ways to apply
MDES identifies the Disaster Assistance Period as May 10, 2026, through January 2, 2027. That period describes the time covered by the program; it does not mean every approved claimant will receive benefits for the entire period.
Applicants can apply online through the MDES website or call 601-493-9428 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
As of August 5, 2026, the August 31 deadline is 26 days away. People who believe a storm-related work disruption affected them should apply promptly and keep records supporting the claim, such as employment information, business records, injury documentation or evidence that travel or a scheduled job start was blocked by disaster conditions.
DUA is separate from SBA disaster loans
Disaster Unemployment Assistance is not the same program as the Small Business Administration’s disaster loans. The SBA separately made physical-damage and economic-injury loans available to businesses, private nonprofits and residents affected by the same storms in the five primary counties.
The SBA’s August 31 deadline applies to physical-property damage loan applications. Economic-injury applications have a separate deadline of March 30, 2027. Those loan programs should not be treated as substitutes for applying for DUA.
MDES will review each unemployment claim before deciding whether the applicant qualifies. Applying by August 31 preserves the opportunity for that review, but it does not guarantee a payment or replace all lost wages.
Sources
- Mississippi Department of Employment Security disaster unemployment notice
- U.S. Small Business Administration Mississippi disaster-relief notice
- Mississippi Today report on federal disaster aid and storm damage
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