Mississippi credit unions in the flood zones appear to be“taking the right cautionary steps” to prepare for potentialdamage, but the big worry will be loan requests from memberssuffering financial losses, and that could come a month later orsooner, the state’s top CU regulator said Thursday.

“Many of the credit unions along the Mississippi River–say inVicksburg and Natchez–are in the higher bluffs so they appear to beout of danger,” said John Allison, commissioner of financialinstitutions.

The $152 million Mutual CU of Vicksburg “has already movedbackup documents” to higher ground in the event of rising water,said Allison, with the CU reporting it is in no danger.

Meanwhile, the $44 million HealthNet FCU of Cordova, Tenn. saidit is continuing this week with a phone campaign to contact 500 ofits 6,400 impacted members to let them know “we want to assist withfinancial needs where possible.” The CU said it is making calls “toreach out to our members” in a time of crisis, with calls made inthe Memphis area as well as to other cities in Tennessee, Arkansasand Mississippi. So far, “most of our members seem to be ok,” saidWilliam A. Whitten, vice president.

Elsewhere, Pen Air FCU of Pensacola, Fla. said it is continuingits collection of needed supplies for northern Alabama victims ofthe April 27 tornadoes. “There are areas in northern Alabama thathave seen very little assistance, with many remaining withoutelectricity for another two weeks,” said Pen Air’s CEO Ron Fields,noting that the items requested by emergency personnel have rangedfrom bottled water to handheld can openers.

“It makes me proud that Pen Air’s members and employees havealways been generous when they are needed and this unfortunatesituation is no exception,” said Fields.