Natchez &8212; Nationally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has set a Dec. 1 deadline to stop paying for hotel rooms for hurricane evacuees.

But a FEMA representative in Mississippi said evacuees in Natchez don&8217;t have to panic.

&8220;We&8217;re not going to have any immediate impact on Mississippi,&8221; said Eugene Brezany, public affairs officer for FEMA.

The coordinating office for FEMA in Mississippi will continue to provide funding for evacuees staying in hotels, evaluating the need in two-week increments, Brezany said.

&8220;Our desire is not to put anybody out,&8221; he said. &8220;In Mississippi, we have a special dispensation.&8221;

But FEMA will work with individuals staying in hotels to get them into long-term housing, he said.

Still, the news that no one will be put out on the street by next month is good for Natchez &8212; where, as of Monday&8217;s count by the mayor&8217;s office, nearly 800 evacuees were still staying in hotels.

Mayor Phillip West said he and United Way officials had been prepared to meet to discuss options for housing if evacuees were going to have to leave hotels.

&8220;We don&8217;t want to see anybody out on the street,&8221; West said.

FEMA will be sending representatives to talk one-on-one with families still staying in hotels, Brezany said.

According to The Associated Press, the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that 53,000 families remain in hotels &8212; mostly in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi &8212; after losing their homes to the storms that devastated the Gulf Coast this year.

&8216;&8216;There are still too many people living in hotel rooms, and we want to help them get into longer-term homes before the holidays,&8217;&8217; FEMA Acting Director R. David Paulison said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. &8216;&8216;Across the country, there are readily available, longer-term housing solutions for these victims that can give greater privacy and stability than hotel and motel rooms.&8217;&8217;