State officials said Tuesday that homeowners with elevated structures who lived inside the federally designated flood zone when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 may still qualify for housing assistance.

Jon Mabry, with the Mississippi Development Authority’s Disaster Recovery Division, said those homeowners can apply for up to $150,000 in federal grant funding. The deadline is March 15.

“We’re finding many homeowners who had flood insurance think that disqualifies them from being able to get a homeowner grant, but that’s not true. Like those homeowners outside the pre-Katrina flood zone who were basically told they were safe from flooding, this group inside the flood zone had done everything the federal government advised them to do, as well.

“These are homeowners who’d elevated above and beyond what was then accepted federal standards, and they were still flood damaged. The homeowner grant program can help these homeowners, too,” Mabry said in a statement.

Mabry said MDA has issued about $48 million in grants to elevated homeowners inside the flood zone. More than 500 applications are pending, he said.

On the Net:

Homeowner Assistance Program, http://www.MSHomeHelp.gov