Disaster Areas - Hurricane Georges in Alabama (new counties in italics) and Mississippi (new counties in italics)

To assure that your Common Manual remains current, please record this document on your LPM/LPB index, and retain it in Appendix E of your manual.

Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, Geneva, Lowndes, Mobile, Monroe, and Washington counties in Alabama have been declared to be disaster areas because of damage caused by Hurricane Georges beginning September 26, 1998.

In addition, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Stone, and Wayne counties in Mississippi have been declared to be disaster areas because of damage caused by Hurricane Georges beginning September 26, 1998.

Disaster-related Forbearance Policy

1. Loan holders are strongly recommended to grant forbearances to borrowers who contact them and indicate that they have been adversely affected by the disaster and need temporary relief from their loan obligations. If the holder believes that the borrower has been harmed and needs assistance, the holder may grant a forbearance for up to 3 months after the disaster strikes the borrower, based on either the borrower's oral or written request for assistance, which must be documented in the holder's files.

2. The holder does not need to obtain supporting documentation or a signed written agreement from the borrower to justify a forbearance for this initial 3-month period. The Secretary will decline to enforce the requirements of 34 CFR 682.211(c) for this period.

3. A continuation of the forbearance past this 3-month period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement from the borrower.

We will notify you if additional areas are designated. Questions and concerns may be addressed to the Department’s toll-free number at 1-800-433-7327, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.